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Down Under, Jitters about National Security

Australians warily watch how the US deals with China’s treatment of Taiwan.

walter_russell_mead
walter_russell_mead
Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, at the U.S. Department of State, in Washington, D.C., on September 15, 2021.
Caption
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne at the US Department of State, in Washington, DC, on September 15, 2021. (State Department photo by Ron Przysucha)

Canberra, Australia

During the post-Cold War years, Australia was something of a backwater in global politics. Rich in minerals and geographically remote, it was widely known as the “Lucky Country,” and its citizens were often even less engaged with world affairs than their American cousins. But as I learned this week, Australians today see themselves on the front lines of a new and dangerous era in international affairs.

Invited Down Under by the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council to give a series of talks on my recent book on US-Israel relations, I found myself less busy  or even discussing Middle East politics than I expected, and more engaged in sobering conversations with senior Australian policy makers, scholars and journalists about the gathering global storm.