Defence Policy-Making

Defence Policy-Making
Author: Arthur Tange
Publisher: ANU E Press
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2008-07-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1921313862

Sir Arthur Tange was perhaps the most powerful Secretary of the Australian Defence Department and one of the most powerful of the great 'mandarins' who dominated the Commonwealth Public Service between the 1940s and the 1970s. His strong, and often decisive, influence on both administration and policy was exerted by virtue of his intellectual capacity, his administrative ability and the sheer force of his personality. Controversies from his time in Defence, including those associated with 'the Tange report' and 'the Tange reforms', echo to this day, and it is still easy to identify both staunch admirers and vitriolic critics in defence and public service circles. Tange wrote this account in his last years. It is a memoir - based largely on memory supplemented by limited reference to documentary material - that focuses upon his career after he came to Defence in 1970. It records his own account of his part in those administrative reforms and policy shifts, as well as his involvement-or non-involvement or alleged involvement-in several of the political crises of the 1970s, including the downfall of John Gorton as Prime Minister and the dismissal of the Whitlam Government.

Australia's Defence Strategy

Australia's Defence Strategy
Author: Adam Lockyer
Publisher: Melbourne Univ. Publishing
Total Pages: 260
Release: 2017-01-30
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0522869335

How would we know a good defence strategy if we saw one? The Asian Century is challenging many of the traditional assumptions at the heart of Australian defence policy and strategy. Defence scholars have risen to the challenge of these transformational times and have collectively produced a smorgasbord of alternatives for policy-makers. The problem is that these recommendations all point in very different directions. How should we evaluate these options? Adam Lockyer tackles this question and develops a novel conceptual framework for evaluating defence strategies. By doing so, this book breaks new theoretical ground and makes an important contribution to our understanding of strategy in general and defence strategy in particular. Lockyer then applies this analytical tool to the leading arguments in Australia’s defence debate and finds that there is still substantial work to be done. Lockyer concludes by proposing a new Australian defence strategy for a contested Asia that would pass the test for a ‘good’ defence strategy. The result is essential reading for anyone interested in strategy or the future of Australian defence policy.

History as Policy

History as Policy
Author: Ron Huisken
Publisher: ANU E Press
Total Pages: 218
Release: 2007-12-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1921313560

"The fortieth anniversary of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre's founding provided the opportunity to assemble many of Australia's leading analysts and commentators to review some of the more significant issues that should define Australian defence policy. ... The papers collected in this volume are not informed by a common view of where Australia should focus its defence policy, but all address themes that should figure prominently in this difficult but essential task"--Provided by publisher.

Australia's Nuclear Policy

Australia's Nuclear Policy
Author: Michael Clarke
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2016-03-03
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1317177193

Australia’s Nuclear Policy: Reconciling Strategic, Economic and Normative Interests critically re-evaluates Australia’s engagement with nuclear weapons, nuclear power and the nuclear fuel cycle since the dawn of the nuclear age. The authors develop a holistic conception of ’nuclear policy’ that extends across the three distinct but related spheres - strategic, economic and normative - that have arisen from the basic ’dual-use’ dilemma of nuclear technology. Existing scholarship on Australia’s nuclear policy has generally grappled with each of these spheres in isolation. In a fresh evaluation of the field, the authors investigate the broader aims of Australian nuclear policy and detail how successive Australian governments have engaged with nuclear issues since 1945. Through its holistic approach, the book demonstrates the logic of seemingly conflicting policy positions at the heart of Australian nuclear policy, including simultaneous reliance on US extended deterrence and the pursuit of nuclear disarmament. Such apparent contradictions highlight the complex relationships between different ends and means of nuclear policy. How successive Australian governments of different political shades have attempted to reconcile these in their nuclear policy over time is a central part of the history and future of Australia’s engagement with the nuclear fuel cycle.

We Shall Return!

We Shall Return!
Author: William M. Leary
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Total Pages: 490
Release: 2021-11-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 0813187419

They were the forgotten commanders of World War II. While the names of Bradley and Patton became household words for Americans, few could identify Krueger or Eichelberger. They served under General Douglas MacArthur, a military genius with an enormous ego who dominated publicity from the Southwest Pacific during the American advance from Australia, through New Guinea, to the Philippines. While people at home read about the great victories that were won by "MacArthur's navy" and "MacArthur's air force," his subordinates labored in obscurity, fearful lest attention from the press lead to their replacement. Historians too have paid little attention to the men who fought so well in the far reaches of the Pacific, and not a single biography has appeared in the decades since V-J Day. Yet General Blamey played a key role in the early battles of New Guinea. Generals Krueger and Eichelberger led American armies to major victories over the Japanese. General Kenney was one of the foremost air strategists of the war, while few airmen could match General Whitehead's tactical brilliance. Admiral Kinkaid took a crucial part in one of the greatest naval engagements in history. Admiral Barbey was an acknowledged master of amphibious warfare. We Shall Return! addresses a serious shortcoming in the literature of World War II. Revealed for the first time is the full extent of the contributions made by MacArthur's commanders to the defeat of the Japanese. As the authors of these essays so ably demonstrate, many of MacArthur's bold decisions and innovative tactics were urged upon him by his subordinates. Clearly, these men deserve more credit for his successes than they have received.

Australia and the New World Order

Australia and the New World Order
Author: David Horner
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 695
Release: 2011-02-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 0521765870

Comprehensive study of Australia's role in the peace enforcement operations that developed at the end of the Cold War.