Reassessing the ANZUS Alliance : strategy and diplomacy between Australia, New Zealand and the United States, 1945-1956

Abstract

This thesis critically analyses the development of Australian-New Zealand-American relations from the end of World War II in late 1945 to the end of the 1956 Suez Crisis. Surprisingly the current literature does not demonstrate the magnitude of problems and disagreements that occurred in the trilateral relationship, even after these countries concluded the 1951 ANZUS Treaty. This is at least partly attributable to the tendency in the existing literature to draw on documentary source materials of only one (or at best, two) of the ANZUS signatories. This thesis, in contrast, makes extensive use of Australian, New Zealand, and US archival materials. This approach has resulted in two broad conclusions, neither of which is given due consideration by the existing literature. Firstly, Australia and (particularly) New Zealand fretted about US leadership in the Pacific and what this meant for Britain's future in the region. Secondly, the United States did not consult closely with its new partners (albeit junior partners) in the Pacific until at least the mid-1950s. This analysis reveals that US policymakers were not only disinclined to share leadership with Australia and New Zealand in the Asia-Pacific, but were in fact unwilling to consult on matters both great and small until at least the mid-1950s. It also reveals that the trans-Tasman countries struggled to cooperate closely, which was mainly due to the difficulties associated with balancing close ties with both the United States and Britain.

Date of Award	2016
Original language	English