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Research|Can the middle hold? Australian middle power diplomacy in a ruptured world order Can the middle hold? Australian middle power diplomacy in a ruptured world order Key judgements Middle power diplomacy should become the fourth pillar of Australian foreign policy, alongside the US alliance, engagement in our own region, and support for the rules-based order. It is already often latent in Australian practice. It should now be explicit.
I worked in Australia’s foreign service for 30 years from 1993 until 2023. How did the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade change over that time? And did it change for the better? The department’s structures and culture in 1993 unsurprisingly mixed the old and the new. Like the rest of the public service it was hierarchical, sometimes overly so. DFAT officers had a reputation for being ambitious, even cut-throat.
As I finished writing The Curious Diplomat, a friend asked me a good question: Is there a distinct Australian style of diplomacy? I mulled that over, quizzing other diplomats – Australian and non-Australian – and arrived, perhaps unsurprisingly, at a mixed answer. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is a large organisation and contains a range of personality types who approach the job in different ways.
Justice in Kelly Country by Lachlan Strahan Partway through the Jerilderie Letter, Ned Kelly accused Senior Constable Anthony Strahan of threatening to shoot him “like a dog”. Those few fateful words have ricocheted through Australian history. Many have blamed Anthony Strahan for the turmoil and bloodshed that unfolded during the Kelly Outbreak. For two days after Anthony reputedly made his threat, Ned and his gang shot dead three policemen at Stringybark Creek. Ned’s reason for opening fire?
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