Customer center

We are a boutique essay service, not a mass production custom writing factory. Let us create a perfect paper for you today!

Example research essay topic: Second World War Attempt To Show - 1,688 words

NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote

A countrys foreign policy is only partly the result of decisions made by its government: it is mainly imposed by circumstances. Australia, during the last fifty years, has been a country unsure of its place in the world. She has been bouncing from ally to ally, begging for a place under their umbrella of protection, ignoring and denying her place in the Asian region, and struggling to find a foreign policy that is in the best interest of her welfare and security. Australia truly finds herself, pardon the pun, stuck on a rock in a hard place. The Asian region in the past half-century has been an atmosphere of turmoil and unrest. Communism threatened Australias way of life and the fragile nation that had been preserved so carefully.

These threats were very real and right at Australias doorstep. The Australian continent is nearly indefensible, and Australia realized this fact. Ideas such as yellow peril and forward defense dominated the headlines during these turbulent times. Australias small army and enormous size made it a good target for attack. Not to mention the fact that Australia still: carried the burden of blame for its past and present racial policies toward Asia.

A foreign policy, that could ensure Australias safety, was needed in a hurry. In the following pages I will attempt to show how the Australian foreign policy has evolved due to four different circumstances. First, I will examine the way Australia reluctantly turned away from the United Kingdom and towards the United States for security and protection as a result of turmoil in Asia. Secondly, I will attempt to show how the Communist scare from China and elsewhere, along with the Korean War changed the face of Australian foreign policy forever. Third, I want to show how the Vietnam War was a time of realization and change for Australian foreign policy. Lastly, I will explain how and why the Australian foreign policy was reevaluated after the Vietnam War.

These four points should prove why Australias military experiences in Asia have been the deceive factors in establishing her foreign policy over the past fifty years. The first major change in Australian foreign policy was a result of the slow change away from dependency on the UK for security and towards the US for protection. Malcolm Booker points out in his book, The Last Domino, saying: Up to the Second World War we lived by the belief that our sole important connection was with the United Kingdom. It was generally taken for granted that only the enemies of Britain were likely to injure us, and that the only dangerous ones were in Europe.

Our foreign policy therefore resided in the simple concept that we should give support to Britain when she needed it, and help in fighting her enemies in war. The policy presented here was effective until the Second World War, when Australia realized that Japan was a real threat to the sovereignty of the nation. For the first time Australia was forced to think for herself due to possible attack from the North. Prime Minister Menzies addressed this issue for the first time in 1939 in which he said: In the Pacific we face primary responsibilities and primary risks.

What Great Britain calls the Far East is to us the near north I have become convinced that in the Pacific Australia must regard herself as a principal providing herself with her own information and maintaining her own diplomatic contacts with foreign powers. The primary risk in the pacific in borne to New Zealand and ourselves. This decision, which was supported by both parties, initiated the change from reliance on Britain to a policy of more independence with regards to international policy. However, Australia could hardly stand on her own, the army was in Europe fighting, and she was not a powerful enough nation to command any respect. Australia needed help from a great power; therefore they turned to the United States. For a few years Australia tried to rely on both the UK and the US in their foreign policy matters.

Menzies tried to show his reliance on both of the Great Powers in 1949 by saying; The role for Australia was that of a bridge in the Asian Pacific region between those two Atlantic powers (UK and US). Menzies lived up to this policy for a few years later as shown by the engagement in Mayala in 1950 and again in 1955. Australia thought it necessary in June of 1950 to send Dakota aircraft to Mayala to help Britain fend off Indonesian forces, and again in 1955 Australia sent in ground troops to do the same task. These actions were taken not only because of the ties to the Mother Country, but also in hopes of receiving additional protection from the UK during these times of crisis in the Pacific. However, it was clear after the Suez Crisis in 1956, which represented the decline of British power in many Australian eyes, that Great Britain could not provide the blanket of power that Australia needed. Australia had to chose between two great and powerful allies, bent on containment policies, the maintenance of the status quo, a strong ideological commitment to anti-communism, the close vetting of independence movements in Asia, There was little doubt what Australias choice would should be.

That choice would change Australian foreign policy forever. It was now essential for Australia to turn their efforts to the United States for the protection they needed. The circumstances of the time: communist rule in China, the threat of Japan, and the lacking of an effective army or navy forced Australia to realize that an alliance with the U. S.

was the only priority. The choice made sense, the U. S. had the economic and military resources to not only protect Australia from Japan, but also assist in fending off any advances of communism that threatened Australias shores.

Prime Minister Curtin called the alliance with the United States a watershed in Australia-American relations. He went on to say that the alliance with the US would be the keystone of Australias defense. This alliance with America, and the protection Australia received would come at a price. The Second World War forced Australia to change the way foreign policy would be viewed. In 1949 Australia was unsure of how she should handle the situation with Communist China. The question debated was whether or not to recognize China as a communist country.

As a result of these debates Australia waited too long before coming to a decision. This was just another example of Australias failure to stand on her own. Therefore, America and the other Western powers influenced Australia into a policy that reinforced the idea that communism was wrong and a threat to Australia. This began a policy in Australia of anti-communism, and the policy carried Australia through until the end of the Vietnam War. This not only hurt relations with her neighbors to the North, but also confirmed that Australia was unable to stand on her own even though she may not have in different circumstances. The threats of communism were no longer only in Europe, there were serious threats close to home.

Senator Gareth Evans, in his book Australias Foreign Relations in the World of the 1990 s, describes this change by saying: World War II turned Australias defense thinking away from Europe towards South-East Asia. The fall of Singapore and the bombing of Darwin brought home to Australians that it was in their own part of the world that their future had to be secured. This became the first priority of Australian foreign policy, the origins of forward defense. This idea of forward defense was brought on by the actions in Asia at the time. The Japanese bombings and the phobia of communism from the North, especially from China, caused Australia to begin combating these evils before they threatened to get any closer to Australia. This defense policy was very aggressive due to the overwhelming fear of invasion.

The problem facing Australia was that she did not have the resources nor the military capabilities to protect herself from communist threats. As I have mentioned earlier, they needed help to instill such an aggressive defense policy. Menzies stated in 1955 the following to defend the new policy: The simple English of this matter is that with our vast territory and our small population we cannot survive a surging Communist challenge from abroad except by the co-operation of powerful friends, including in particular the Untied Kingdom and the United States. Similarly, it is unbelievable that any responsible Australian should fail to see that is if the battle against Communism is to be an effective one it must be as forward as possible These comments came a few years after Australia signed one of the most important documents in her foreign policy's history: the ANZUS treaty.

The Korean War and the signing of the ANZUS treaty were landmark events in Australian foreign policy. The Korean War was of particular importance because it showed the world, and in particular the United States, that Australia was serious about its forward defense policy. When Australia decided to commit troops to Korea in 1950 the reason was to help restore relations to the U. S.

But further the restoration of the alliance with the U. S. was (Australias) basic strategic interest, and the Korean War led ultimately to a Pacific security system backed by the U. S. which in the 1950 s and 1960 s was a valuable safeguard for Australia.

In some respects the Korean War was good for Australia. It provided Australia with the opportunity to help the U. S. in its battle against communism. Foreign Minister Percy Spender expressed his views to P.

M. Menzies about this opportunity by saying: from Australias long-term point of view, any additional aid we can give to the United States now, small though it may be, will repay us in the future. Spender words influenced Menzies to commit troops to Korea in 1950, and this action paved the road towards the signing of the ANZUS treaty a...


Free research essays on topics related to: prime minister, korean war, foreign policy, second world war, attempt to show

Research essay sample on Second World War Attempt To Show

Writing service prices per page

  • $18.85 - in 14 days
  • $19.95 - in 3 days
  • $23.95 - within 48 hours
  • $26.95 - within 24 hours
  • $29.95 - within 12 hours
  • $34.95 - within 6 hours
  • $39.95 - within 3 hours
  • Calculate total price

Our guarantee

  • 100% money back guarantee
  • plagiarism-free authentic works
  • completely confidential service
  • timely revisions until completely satisfied
  • 24/7 customer support
  • payments protected by PayPal

Secure payment

With EssayChief you get

  • Strict plagiarism detection regulations
  • 300+ words per page
  • Times New Roman font 12 pts, double-spaced
  • FREE abstract, outline, bibliography
  • Money back guarantee for missed deadline
  • Round-the-clock customer support
  • Complete anonymity of all our clients
  • Custom essays
  • Writing service

EssayChief can handle your

  • essays, term papers
  • book and movie reports
  • Power Point presentations
  • annotated bibliographies
  • theses, dissertations
  • exam preparations
  • editing and proofreading of your texts
  • academic ghostwriting of any kind

Free essay samples

Browse essays by topic:

Stay with EssayChief! We offer 10% discount to all our return customers. Once you place your order you will receive an email with the password. You can use this password for unlimited period and you can share it with your friends!

Academic ghostwriting

About us

© 2002-2024 EssayChief.com