The future of American leadership in the Asia-Pacific under the Trump administration appears uncertain. In this timely book, Michael Heazle and Andrew O?Neil have brought together contributors from across the globe to explore the commitment of Australia and Japan to US leadership in this region, and how this commitment may impact on often tense relations between China and the US. China's Rise and Australia?-Japan?-US Relations discusses the strategic post-war presence of American leadership in Asia, and examines the influence on the region?s geopolitics. This book allows readers to understand how and why China is challenging this external engagement, and conversely why Australia and Japan want to maintain a commitment to US input; their perceptions of American leadership are critical indicators of the prospects for change in the region. This is a vital book for security and international relations scholars, researchers and experts, as it provides detailed analyses of current relations between countries in the Asia Pacific and the US, as well as giving a thorough look into what the future is likely to hold in terms of US commitment in the region. Contributors include: Z. Cooper, I. Hall, R. Hanada, M. Heazle, V. Jackson, R. Kersten, S. Lee, S. Mori, A. O'Neil, M. Rapp-Hooper, R. Sahashi

This book explores the emerging challenges to foreign policymaking in liberal democracies and the adequacy of the 'marketplace of ideas' in responding to these challenges. Looking at foreign policy challenges as diverse as democratization, globalization and climate change, from the role of values in environmental debate to the Iraq invasion and the war on drugs, the contributors critically examine how key global issues are framed in public debate across three of the world's most mature liberal democracies: the US, the UK, and Australia. The book contributes to a better understanding of the limits of the 'marketplace of ideas' in helping to produce wise and accountable policy, and how those limits may soon be overcome. Examining how key global issues are framed in foreign policy debate across a range of liberal democratic societies, this book will strongly appeal to academics and students with an interest in international relations, policymaking and politics, as well as to governmental and think tank policymakers and advisors.

This book examines the often troubled relationship between Japan and China from a broad interdisciplinary perspective. Utilising the expertise of Chinese, Japanese and regional specialists working in a variety of fields, this original work approaches the contemporary sources of tensions between these two Asian giants from several levels of analysis. In particular the domestic-state interface in both countries and the important role of historical perceptions in the region are explored. China-Japan Relations in the Twenty-first Century avoids perceiving the discord between China and Japan simply from an international relations-based perspective, as has been the tendency of recent scholarly analysis. Rather, it strives to set the existing relationship in the context of historical interaction, the influence of culture on mutual perceptions, the role of ideologies - particularly nationalism, domestic political and economic changes that affect China and Japan's state-to-state perceptions and relations, and their changing regional and global relations. The book firmly emphasises the importance of history and historical memory in the construction of relations; a relationship constructed on present perceptions of the past that also shape expectations for the future. This is a unique and topical book, using the tensions of 2005 between China and Japan as the point of departure for a broad historical, political, cultural and international relations analysis. As such it will appeal to scholars at many levels of academe in the fields of Asian studies, international relations, regional studies and government.

Voters expect their elected representatives to pursue good policy and presume this will be securely founded on the best available knowledge. Yet when representatives emphasize their reliance on expert knowledge, they seem to defer to people whose authority derives, not politically from the sovereign people, but from the presumed objective status of their disciplinary bases. This book examines the tensions between political authority and expert authority in the formation of public policy in liberal democracies. It aims to illustrate and better understand the nature of these tensions rather than to argue specific ways of resolving them. The various chapters explore the complexity of interaction between the two forms of authority in different policy domains in order to identify both common elements and differences. The policy domains covered include: climate geoengineering discourses; environmental health; biotechnology; nuclear power; whaling; economic management; and the use of force. This volume will appeal to researchers and to convenors of post-graduate courses in the fields of policy studies, foreign policy decision-making, political science, environmental studies, democratic system studies, and science policy studies.

Uncertainty in Policy Making explores how uncertainty is interpreted and used by policy makers, experts and politicians. It argues that conventional notions of rational, evidence-based policy making - hailed by governments and organisations across the world as the only way to make good policy - is an impossible aim in highly complex and uncertain environments; the blind pursuit of such a 'rational' goal is in fact irrational in a world of competing values and interests. The book centres around two high-profile and important case studies: the Iraq war and climate change policy in the US, UK and Australia. Based on three years' research, including interviews with experts such as Hans Blix, Paul Pillar, and Brian Jones, these two case studies show that the treatment of uncertainty issues in specialist advice is largely determined by how well the advice fits with or contradicts the policy goals and orientation of the policy elite. Instead of allowing the debates to be side-tracked by arguments over whose science or expert advice is 'more right', we must accept that uncertainty in complex issues is unavoidable and recognise the values and interests that lie at the heart of the issues. The book offers a 'hedging' approach which will enable policy makers to manage rather than eliminate uncertainty.

Voters expect their elected representatives to pursue good policy and presume this will be securely founded on the best available knowledge. Yet when representatives emphasize their reliance on expert knowledge, they seem to defer to people whose authority derives, not politically from the sovereign people, but from the presumed objective status of their disciplinary bases. This book examines the tensions between political authority and expert authority in the formation of public policy in liberal democracies. It aims to illustrate and better understand the nature of these tensions rather than to argue specific ways of resolving them. The various chapters explore the complexity of interaction between the two forms of authority in different policy domains in order to identify both common elements and differences. The policy domains covered include: climate geoengineering discourses; environmental health; biotechnology; nuclear power; whaling; economic management; and the use of force. This volume will appeal to researchers and to convenors of post-graduate courses in the fields of policy studies, foreign policy decision-making, political science, environmental studies, democratic system studies, and science policy studies.

Uncertainty in Policy Making explores how uncertainty is interpreted and used by policy makers, experts and politicians. It argues that conventional notions of rational, evidence-based policy making - hailed by governments and organisations across the world as the only way to make good policy - is an impossible aim in highly complex and uncertain environments; the blind pursuit of such a 'rational' goal is in fact irrational in a world of competing values and interests. The book centres around two high-profile and important case studies: the Iraq war and climate change policy in the US, UK and Australia. Based on three years' research, including interviews with experts such as Hans Blix, Paul Pillar, and Brian Jones, these two case studies show that the treatment of uncertainty issues in specialist advice is largely determined by how well the advice fits with or contradicts the policy goals and orientation of the policy elite. Instead of allowing the debates to be side-tracked by arguments over whose science or expert advice is 'more right', we must accept that uncertainty in complex issues is unavoidable and recognise the values and interests that lie at the heart of the issues. The book offers a 'hedging' approach which will enable policy makers to manage rather than eliminate uncertainty.

Understanding Australia's Neighbours is a comprehensive introduction to the study of Asia. Written thematically, it provides comparisons between Asian and Australian societies and encourages readers to think about Australia's neighbours across a wide range of social, economic and historical contexts. Topics covered include: * The nature of tradition and modernity * Change to the family and religion * The role of colonialism and nationalism in political change * Nation-building * Economic development * International politics * Globalisation * Democracy and human rights. Fully revised and updated, it covers the region's response to the global financial crisis, war on terror and climate change. It features a brand new chapter on the rise of China, its changing dynamic with Japan and the US and what this means for the broader region and Australia. Written in an accessible and informative way, this is a book for all Australians who seek a better understanding of Australia's neighbours in East and Southeast Asia.

This book critically analyses the topic of US-led external interventions in the affairs of developing countries by using one of the most contested experiments of modern times, namely, the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath. The March 2003 invasion of Iraq has so far failed to deliver the benefits and outcomes its supporters anticipated, prompting international discussion as to whether the promises of externally-led nation-building (as an attempt to mould rogue states in a democratic, market-friendly fashion) are outweighed by the kinds of pitfalls and perils of intervention that have come to characterise the Iraq experience. This book identifies and addresses the major issues emerging from the current debate including the evolution of external interventionism as an idea, an explanation of what went wrong in post-Saddam Iraq and why the Iraq experiment is flawed by the Bush administration's refusal to address long standing political and historical grievances among Muslims as part of the 'War on Terror'. The contributors assess the troubled relationship between Islam and the West, the prospects for democracy in the Middle East, foreign policy debates in the US, and how economics and politics are juxtaposed in a highly contentious manner in any project of externally-driven nation-building. Beyond the Iraq War brings together scholars and practitioners in an attempt to move beyond the polemical dimensions of the existing debate and provide a balanced analysis of what the Iraq enterprise can tell us about the brand of external interventionism espoused by the Bush administration and also the lessons it holds for any future interventions into the affairs of states. It combines a mix of disciplines, most notably international relations and economics as well as theory and empirical evidence. The book is written in a non-technical, but rigorous, manner in order to make complex and diverse issues accessible to the general reader. This fascinating and scholarly work will appeal to academics and scholars in the fields of political economics, political science and international relations. Policymakers, journalists and media commentators will also find this work to be of great interest and value.

Focusing on the internal workings of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the author explores the impact of political and economic imperatives on the production and interpretation of scientific research. Central to this work are the epistemological problems encountered in the production of 'truth', whereby scientific knowledge has made uncertainty a tool in the service of political objectives. Copublished: University of Washington Press

Understanding Australia's Neighbours is a comprehensive introduction to the study of Asia. Written thematically, it provides comparisons between Asian and Australian societies and encourages readers to think about Australia's neighbours across a wide range of social, economic and historical contexts. Topics covered include: * The nature of tradition and modernity * Change to the family and religion * The role of colonialism and nationalism in political change * Nation-building * Economic development * International politics * Globalisation * Democracy and human rights. Fully revised and updated, it covers the region's response to the global financial crisis, war on terror and climate change. It features a brand new chapter on the rise of China, its changing dynamic with Japan and the US and what this means for the broader region and Australia. Written in an accessible and informative way, this is a book for all Australians who seek a better understanding of Australia's neighbours in East and Southeast Asia.