International relations and foreign policy in the Australian Journal of Political Science: A review

Abstract

The Australian Journal of Political Science (AJPS) has evolved from a publication that deliberately relegated articles in international relations (IR) to a secondary status to one that has defined and encouraged leading-edge contributions to that field. This development can be attributed to successive AJPS editorial teams’ realisation that contemporary political problems are increasingly interconnected and that emerging approaches to IR reflect this condition. Several recent and key IR debates that have emerged within the journal’s pages are assigned special attention here: the linking of Australia’s domestic politics to that country’s foreign policy interests and behaviour; in-depth discussions that relate to ongoing trends in the international political economy; critical analysis of national defence and regional security postures; and diverse theoretical perspectives that are increasingly shaping the IR field’s paradigmatic identity. It is concluded that the AJPS is now a leading source of IR thought and discourse.

《澳大利亚政治学杂志》的前身将国关研究放在次要位置。杂志所以有今天的面貌，是因为编辑团队意识到当代政治问题日益相互关联，国关研究正在出现的新思路即反映了这种情形。刊物上最近的几篇国关辩论包括：澳大利亚国内政治与对外政策关注及行为的关系；国际政治经济新走势的深度讨论；国防及地区安全态度的批判性分析；形成国关领域范式特点的不同理论视角。可以说，《澳大利亚政治学杂》如今是国关思想及话语的领军出版物。

Keywords:

• Australian foreign policy
• comparative politics
• ‘English School’
• liminality
• ‘point/counterpoint dialogue’
• positive/realist versus critical theory