Open AccessHistorical Lessons for Australia's Foreign Policy: The Case of British EEC Membership
Author(s) -
Nina Markovic Khaze
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of european studies/australian and new zealand journal of european studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1837-2147
pISSN - 1836-1803
DOI - 10.30722/anzjes.vol9.iss2.15177
Subject(s) - brexit , negotiation , politics , newspaper , foreign policy , political science , european union , government (linguistics) , order (exchange) , public administration , economy , political economy , economic history , international trade , law , sociology , history , economics , linguistics , philosophy , finance
The Australian Government's attitudes towards major events in international politics such as the UK's entry into the European Economic Community (EEC) in the past and Brexit negotiations today, carry greater weight than previously assumed in political science literature. Australia was critical of the EEC (now called the European Union, EU) in the early 1960s, when its then most important trading partner, the United Kingdom (UK) first applied for membership. Australia was ill-prepared to deal with the repercussions from Britain's entry into the EU, as Australian foreign policy was heavily influenced by local as well as international anti-EEC attitudes. This paper will analyse political debates in Australia during the 1960s and early 1970s with reference to parliamentary Hansard records and newspaper articles in order to suggest a new framework for Australian foreign policy analysis.