The Howard Legacy

At the beginning of the 21st Century, Western powers are in the process of adjusting their military strategies to a rapidly changing security environment. Australia, throughout its history engaged in almost any major military conflict, has been no exemption. This book analyses the evolution of Australian military strategy during the leadership of Prime Minister John Howard (1996-2007) by analysing doctrinal changes, deployments, and force structure developments. It shows that during the 'Howard Years' Australian strategy was gradually redirected from a continental towards a maritime school of thought. Australia will continue to resort to the use of force in order to uphold its liberal values, making it an attractive coalition partner also for European powers engaged in global conflicts.

Autorentext

The Author: Benjamin Schreer specialises in military affairs and is currently research group leader in the Center of Excellence at the University of Konstanz (Germany). From 2003 to 2005 he was a research fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik) in Berlin.

Zusammenfassung
«Overall, it is one of the best contributions to the study of Australian defence policy in recent years, and will undoubtedly become an important basis for any future work.» (Survival)

Inhalt

Contents: Defining Strategy - Strategic Culture - Continental School - Maritime School - The Australian Strategic Debate - Historical Evolution of Australian Strategy - Australian Strategy pre-2001 - Australian Strategy post-2001 - ADF Deployments and Defence Restructuring.