The ‘greatest threat’ to Australian and global security? A history of the Howard government’s evolving perception of nuclear proliferation, 1996–2007

Clarke, M

The ‘greatest threat’ to Australian and global security? A history of the Howard government’s evolving perception of nuclear proliferation, 1996–2007

Clarke, M

Permalink

Publisher:: Taylor & Francis
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: History Australia, 2023, 20, (2), pp. 270-289
Issue Date:: 2023-01-01

Closed Access

	Filename	Description	Size
	The greatest threat to Australian and global security A history of the Howard government s evolving perception of nuclear proliferation 1996 2007.pdf	Published version	1.76 MB	Adobe PDF	View/Open

Copyright Clearance Process

Recently Added
In Progress
Closed Access

This item is closed access and not available.

Full metadata record

Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Clarke, M https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1048-9586
dc.date.accessioned	2024-05-23T01:45:03Z
dc.date.available	2024-05-23T01:45:03Z
dc.date.issued	2023-01-01
dc.identifier.citation	History Australia, 2023, 20, (2), pp. 270-289
dc.identifier.issn	1449-0854
dc.identifier.issn	1833-4881
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/179157
dc.description.abstract	For many observers Australia’s approach to the threat of nuclear proliferation under the government of Prime Minister John Howard (1996–2007) was simply the product of its steadfast alignment of Australian foreign policy with that of the United States in the post-9/11 context. The Howard government’s enthusiastic support for the 2003 US-led ‘coalition of the willing’ invasion of Iraq on the basis of Baghdad’s alleged possession of ‘weapons of mass destruction’ (WMD) is taken as the most egregious example of this tendency. Yet this assumption ignores that the potential threat of nuclear proliferation had been an abiding concern for the government since it had entered office. This paper argues that there was an enduring dynamic in Australian foreign and strategic policy of perceiving a direct link between the fate of the prevailing international system and that of Australia’s own national security. To this end, the Howard government’s perception of the threat of nuclear proliferation was sensitive to trends at the global level, most particularly the strategic posture and preferences of its alliance partner, the United States. The paper demonstrates, however, that this weakened the Howard government’s ability to maintain fidelity with what had become Australia’s traditional activist diplomacy within the non-proliferation regime.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Taylor & Francis
dc.relation.ispartof	History Australia
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1080/14490854.2023.2182647
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
dc.subject	2003 Language Studies, 2103 Historical Studies
dc.subject.classification	4302 Heritage, archive and museum studies
dc.subject.classification	4303 Historical studies
dc.title	The ‘greatest threat’ to Australian and global security? A history of the Howard government’s evolving perception of nuclear proliferation, 1996–2007
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	20
utslib.for	2003 Language Studies
utslib.for	2103 Historical Studies
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/DVC (International)
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/DVC (International)/Australia-China Relations Institute
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
dc.date.updated	2024-05-23T01:45:02Z
pubs.issue	2
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	20
utslib.citation.issue	2

Abstract:

For many observers Australia’s approach to the threat of nuclear proliferation under the government of Prime Minister John Howard (1996–2007) was simply the product of its steadfast alignment of Australian foreign policy with that of the United States in the post-9/11 context. The Howard government’s enthusiastic support for the 2003 US-led ‘coalition of the willing’ invasion of Iraq on the basis of Baghdad’s alleged possession of ‘weapons of mass destruction’ (WMD) is taken as the most egregious example of this tendency. Yet this assumption ignores that the potential threat of nuclear proliferation had been an abiding concern for the government since it had entered office. This paper argues that there was an enduring dynamic in Australian foreign and strategic policy of perceiving a direct link between the fate of the prevailing international system and that of Australia’s own national security. To this end, the Howard government’s perception of the threat of nuclear proliferation was sensitive to trends at the global level, most particularly the strategic posture and preferences of its alliance partner, the United States. The paper demonstrates, however, that this weakened the Howard government’s ability to maintain fidelity with what had become Australia’s traditional activist diplomacy within the non-proliferation regime.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/179157