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How does America's greater focus on Asia impact the security policies of Japan and Australia? How does it change the nature of the Japan-US-Australia security partnership? This paper attempts to answer these questions by looking at Japanese and Australian responses to the Obama Administration's new security policy toward Asia called “rebalancing.” After examining them, it argues that the regional allied response to America's new security posture has generated greater momentum for both allies to collaborate in wider areas in a more timely and effective way than before. It concludes asserting that, in the era of rebalance, Japan, the United States, and Australia have not only deepened their existing cooperation, but also have expanded potential areas of cooperation toward a more “dynamic” partnership. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Anti-Americanism, sometimes called the 'last acceptable prejudice', is a common phenomenon in the modern era. This paper explores the ebb and flow of anti-Americanism in the Australian Labor Party in the post-Second World War period and argues that while at times it was reasonable or proportionate, at others such criticism became unreasonable, disproportionate and therefore prejudicial. When this occurs the Australia-US alliance can become strained, the Australian electorate tends to become sceptical of the ALP's credentials on national security and the party's electoral prospects also tend to suffer. Nevertheless, following the brief leadership of the stridently anti-American Mark Latham, such sentiment in the ALP has been widely discredited and is unlikely to emerge again in its prejudicial form for some time, marking the end of an era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until World War II, there were few Lithuanians in Australia. Their numbers were boosted when 10,000 Lithuanian refugees arrived in this country in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Many congregated in the larger cities and established the structures necessary for the preservation of their national identity. These structures included Lithuanian newspapers and books, weekend schools, choirs and folk-dancing groups, Lithuanian libraries, credit unions, etc. All these initiatives were aimed at preserving the Lithuanian heritage, the "lietuvybė", and were addressed at the Lithuanian-speaking newcomers. These former refugees were still passionately hoping for an early liberation of their homeland, especially in their early years in Australia. At the same time, prompt assimilation of the European immigrants was in the forefront of the Australian Government's policy. Most Lithuanians managed to meet the Government's requirement without losing their "lietuvybė" -- an interesting phenomenon that has been studied in its own right and needs further in-depth discussion. In spite of the significant input by 10,000 Lithuanian migrants, however, the Australian population at large knew very little, or nothing at all, about Lithuania and its people. The Australian Lithuanians, aided by their Baltic colleagues, belatedly realised that it was not enough to document the Lithuanian identity and heritage just in Lithuanian. All about the Lithuanians, and the other Balts, had to be made known to Australians, in English. As a short-term measure, new newspapers, bulletins, leaflets and media releases were produced in English, featuring the facts of the foreign rule in the Baltics. Books started appearing on similar topics. In Australia today, some of the Lithuanian heritage continues to be recorded and published, in English. However, this work is carried out piecemeal and under difficul conditions. There is only one English-language Lithuanian journal in Australasia and in the whole Southern Hemisphere (Lithuanian Papers). Over 30 English-language books published in Australia during the past 50 years describe Lithuania and its people. Some are devoted entirely to this topic. Others have merely a chapter or two on Lithuania. Whether lengthy or brief, a number of these volumes are of a high standard; but several others are erroneous and misleading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the changing nature of Australian-American relations in the aftermath of the Iraq imbroglio and China's rise. While many observers see differences in Australian and US approaches toward China as a reflection of different interests, it is the contention of this paper that these different Australian-US perspectives on China are, in fact, premised more on some highly skewed assumptions and fallacious beliefs, misconceptions and myths that have lately come to underlie Australia's China policy than on divergent Australian-US interests. This article looks at the proposition that China's rise has the potential to divide Australia and America but concludes that Beijing is unlikely to succeed in driving a wedge between Washington and Canberra. The shared values and shared strategic interests ensure broad support for the Australia-US alliance in Australia which has now expanded into a global partnership encompassing the transnational security issues as well as the traditional geopolitical issues of managing the rise of new powers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explains why Australian scholars have taken such an intense interest in regional security in South Asia and the Asia-Pacific. In so doing, it explores the growing domestic controversy about the Australia-United States alliance that has seen the former adopt an international position increasingly dependent on the latter's foreign and defence policies. As a result, Australia's capacity to play the role of a neutral, middle-ranking power able to make an original contribution both to the alliance and to complex security issues in the Asia-Pacific region has been eroded. The one exception to this is Australian policy towards North Korea. Given the well-documented arms trade between North Korea and Pakistan, this makes Australian policy directly relevant to the security of South Asia. The second part of this introductory paper comments on the other contributions in this collection. By drawing together the research of the six Australian authors in this special themed issue, the guest editors suggest that the most important conclusion emerging from this collection is the fragility of modern Pakistan, both domestically and internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]