Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part 1 Australia and the World
- 1 The development of Australian foreign policy
- 2 Australia in the global economy in the 1980s
- 3 The media and foreign policy
- 4 Defence policy and organisation: the search for self-reliance
- 5 The growth of the Australian intelligence community and the Anglo-American connection
- 6 Reflections on Australian foreign policy
- Part 2 Australia and the Regions
- Index
4 - Defence policy and organisation: the search for self-reliance
from Part 1 - Australia and the World
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 March 2024
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part 1 Australia and the World
- 1 The development of Australian foreign policy
- 2 Australia in the global economy in the 1980s
- 3 The media and foreign policy
- 4 Defence policy and organisation: the search for self-reliance
- 5 The growth of the Australian intelligence community and the Anglo-American connection
- 6 Reflections on Australian foreign policy
- Part 2 Australia and the Regions
- Index
Summary
On entering the 1980s, Australia’s defence planners were still coming to terms with the demise of our earlier policy of ’forward defence’ following the US defeat in Indochina and its subsequent (and continuing) withdrawal from our region of interest. While it was generally recognised that Australia had to become more self-reliant in defence, little progress had been made in formulating the strategies and organisational structures needed for this new role. Australia’s higher defence establishment had been reorganised between 1973 and 1976, in part to reflect our changing strategic circumstances, but its armed forces were still structured along single service lines and continued to be equipped and trained to operate as part of larger allied armies.
Keywords
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- Chapter
- Information
- Australia in World Affairs 1981–1990Diplomacy in the Marketplace, pp. 63 - 81Publisher: Cambridge University PressFirst published in: 2024