The informal diplomacy of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue

Abstract

After 20 years, the Australian American Leadership Dialogue has acquired enviable access to political leaders in the foreign policy establishments of both countries. The influence of the Dialogue is at earlier consensus-building stages of decision making. Its importance has been in ‘relationship maintenance’ of the bilateral alliance which it has pursued through processes of informal diplomacy. The Dialogue now faces its own challenges of organisational renewal and relevance in the wider ‘interpretative community’ of Australian think tanks, university policy institutes and opinion-formers.

经过了二十年，澳美领袖对话成绩骄人，网罗了两国外交政策领域的政治领导人。对话的影响力在于决策初期的营建共识。澳美联盟是通过非正式外交来营建的，对话的意义就在于维护双边联盟的关系。对话现在面临着在澳大利亚思想库、大学政策机构、舆论塑造者所组成的更大范围的“阐释共同体”内更新自身组织及相关性的挑战。

Keywords:

• bilateral alliance
• informal diplomacy
• interpretive community

Notes

1. The authors began this article after attending the August 2011 Australian American Leadership Dialogue annual dinner and wrapped up their revisions at the April 2014 American Australian Association benefit dinner. We would like to thank our hosts for giving us food for thought. Any errors or misinterpretations remain ours.

2. The US delegates to the initial Dialogue included, from the Democrat side, Joe Duffey, Winston Lord, Bruce Reed, Phil Lader, Larry Irving and Tom Schneider, and, from the Republican Party, Brent Snowcroft, Dick Cheney, Bob Zoellick, Jim Leach, Richard Armitage and Karl Rove. In Australia, this role was played, inter alia, by Kim Beazley, Peter Cook and Nick Bolkus—all federal Labor cabinet ministers—and Liberals, including federal Members of Parliament David Kemp, John Moore and Warwick Smith, plus Nick Greiner from New South Wales. Other Australian ‘opinion leaders’ or public servants included Dick Woolcott, Ross Garnaut, Kevin Rudd, Greg Sheridan, Irene Kwong Moss and Pat Turner.

3. See ‘ASEAN ISIS’ at: http://www.csis.or.id/institutional-partnership/asean-isis.

4. See the AALD's home page at: http://www.aald.org/.

5. See the AALD's home page at: http://www.aald.org/.

6. See ‘AALD History’ at http://www.aald.org/index/index/page/history (accessed 18 December 2012).

7. See AALD's home page at: http://www.aald.org/.

8. See ‘AALD History’ at: http://www.aald.org/index/index/page/history (accessed December 18, 2012).

9. See the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation's website at: http://www.focac.org/eng/.

10. See the Bilderberg Group's website at: http://www.bilderbergmeetings.org/index.php.

11. See ‘AALD History’ at: http://www.aald.org/index/index/page/history (accessed December 18, 2012).