Australian Journal of Defence and Strategic Studies
AJDSS Volume 2 Number 1
The US Lobby and Australian Defence Policy
By Vince Scapptaura
Monash University Publishing (June 2019)
Reviewed by Iain D. Henry
Scappatura argues that within Australia, there is a 'loose network of elites and institutional relationships' that dominate discussions of Australian strategy. This 'pro-US security consensus' operates through institutions such as the Dialogue, which 'facilitates the socialisation of Australian elites into the alliance orthodoxy'. But identifying how this orthodoxy came about, and is sustained, is no easy task. Scappatura's work on this delicate and difficult subject is more satisfying than many other treatments. Methodologically, the Dialogue is a difficult subject to research: Scappatura notes that his requests to interview organisational leaders, and survey Dialogue participants, were refused. However, he was able to interview 40 Dialogue participants, and these interviews provide a rich dataset for the argument he advances
To cite this article: Iain D. Henry, 'Review: The US Lobby and Australian Defence Policy', review of The US Lobby and Australian Defence Policy by Vince Scappatura, Australian Journal of Defence and Strategic Studies 2, 1 (2020):140-143, http://www.defence.gov.au/ADC/publications/AJDSS/volume2-Number1/review1-US-Lobby-and-Australian-Defence-Policy-Scappatura.asp
Published online: 21 August, 2020
