Middle powers in the modern state system : a case study of Australia's role as a regional actor

摘要

Foreign policy represents the effort of a state to defend its interests inudinternational relations, and power encapsulates the various factors thatudmeasure the limits of a state's capacity in the promotion of its nationaludinterests. This thesis examines the various factors, under the rubric ofudpower, which has guided the foreign policy of a middle power, Australia.udIt argues that middle powers occupy a special niche within the context ofudregional subsets of the general state system. It demonstrates that a middleudpower, like Australia, is attracted to the use of multilateral institutionaludarrangements, as a vehicle for influence in foreign policy, to defendudgeneral interests within its geographic region. Four geographic regions,udthe South West Pacific, the Antarctic region, the South East Asian regionudand the Indian Ocean region, are surveyed. This thesis finds thatudmultilateral institutional arrangements have become the primary agencyudof Australia's regional influence as a middle power but concludes that theudutility of regional arrangements varies with the geographic context inudwhich a middle power is situated.