A ustralia's Role in the P acific

Abstract For all its history, A ustralia has been dependent upon a major power for security. Before federation, the colonies looked to B ritain. That attitude continued until W orld W ar II . B ritain was then unable to defend us, and A ustralia was vulnerable. Strategic dependence upon a major power was in the A ustralian psyche. A necessity forced us to transfer that sense of dependence to the U nited S tates. This was a justifiable policy until the fall of the S oviet U nion. Now, changes in the U nited S tates itself, the absence of a global threat, and changes within the P acific theatre all point to the need for A ustralia to abandon its traditional policies, to stand more independently, and to carve out a future for itself.