Issues in Australian Foreign Policy July to December 2020

Abstract

This review examines Australian foreign policy for July to December 2020 through the framework of uncertainty. It argues that the Morrison government's handling of relations with China and its significant defence boost with the Defence Strategic Update signal a desire to placate various domestic pressures while at the same time responding to international tensions over security under an unpredictable Trump administration. At the same time, elements of Morrison's “negative” and “positive” globalism guided Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with consequences for regional aid and diplomatic soft power. Foreign policy initiatives during this period, while sending positive optics, were undercut by a lack of a consolidated vision to ensure policy effectiveness. Wrestling aspects of “negative” and “positive” globalism also suggests that foreign policy under Morrison is at times contradictory in its interpretation of the national interest. This is especially prevalent on the question of climate change, which Morrison soon had to contend with as an incoming Biden administration promised ambitious goals in this area.