School of Social and Political Sciences - Research Publications
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ItemFrom Friction to Free Trade Negotiations: Australia's Engagement with the European Union(Wiley, 2019-12)Following decades of skirmishes, Australia's relationship with the European Union (EU) has finally come of age. With the commencement of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement, the outlook is promising for enhanced cooperation. Yet there are distinctive— and at times diverging— hierarchies of interests. This article argues that, although the EU and Australia regard each other as like‐minded partners, their interests and domestic pressures do not necessarily denote comprehensive convergence. This is due to the burden of memory, divergent concerns and values, some mutual neglect and an element of mutual misunderstanding.
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ItemRethinking Britain's Role in a Differentiated Europe after Brexit: A Comparative Regionalism Perspective(Wiley, 2019-11-01)Once outside the EU, the UK will have to develop a new relationship with its former partners in the EU and other pan-European bodies such as NATO, and this will require the UK to re-evaluate its sense of its global and regional importance. We argue in particular that the comparative literature on awkward states in regional integration and regionalism, as well as that on middle powers in international relations, can help us understand the ways in which the UK's likely future relations with its continental neighbours can be approached and understood. In this article we focus on future UK–EU relations, drawing on Alex Warleigh-Lack's typology of regionalization processes to develop maximalist and minimalist understandings of how the UK–EU relationship of the future could be structured. We then draw on the literature on middle powers, as well as that devoted to three other awkward states in their respective regions, namely Australia, Japan and Norway, to illustrate how these relationships have worked in practice, and thus how the UK could seek to structure its future regional role.
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ItemCOVID-19 and the relentless harms of Australia's punitive immigration detention regime(SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2021-03)
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ItemEurope's wicked legitimacy crisis: the case of refugees(Routledge - Taylor & Francis, 2018-01-01)The European Union’s response to the current and persistent – if not wicked – refugee crisis has exposed a new legitimacy challenge. Characterised by interstate bickering and undignified competition for the most draconian measures, the crisis brings to the fore many inherent tensions of the EU which cannot be easily reconciled. The crisis has revealed the many shortcomings of EU governance. Deficits of leadership and solidarity and the rise of xenophobic politics across many member states exploit growing populism with pronounced effect. This multi-dimensional problem, so resistant to a distinct solution, underscores the EU’s instability in a number of ways: its foundational values have lost resonance; its institutional inadequacies have become more apparent; its leadership and agenda-setting power have been noticeably weakened. Ultimately, the EU is no longer perceived as a problem-solver, a fact that inherently tests the legitimacy of a system that was created to solve problems.
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ItemAustralia’s relationship with the European Union: from conflict to cooperation(Routledge, 2018-05-04)After decades of tension, Australia and the European Union (EU) now have a substantive relationship, interacting and cooperating with each other within a wide range of areas. The relationship is currently at a critical turning point. The Framework Agreement has, for the first time, elevated the relationship to a treaty level. It strengthens Australia–EU actions and interests on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues. There is considerable potential for closer cooperation and more extensive pooling of the resources and capacities of both interlocutors on a range of policies and within the multilateral context. This article provides an assessment of the relationship, the current state of play and key challenges facing the relationship as the EU and Australia forge stronger ties through the conclusion of a Framework Agreement and the commencement of discussions on a Free Trade Agreement at the same time as the UK’s exit negotiations from the EU. It demonstrates that, although there are challenges facing the relationship, there are also significant opportunities to further develop and strengthen ties.
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ItemAustralia's engagement with the European Union: partnership choices and critical friends(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2018-01-01)This article examines the development of Australia’s relationship with the European Union (EU) by focusing on drivers and obstacles. Underlying the relationship are the burden of memory and common interests and values. It argues that, although the past still resonates, the changes to the range and depth of interests and values have resulted in a more fruitful engagement. It suggests that a history of a negatively framed context of engagement, characterised by Australian critiques of the EU and, in turn, by EU neglect of the relationship, has contributed to distance between the two interlocutors. It is only in recent years that this distance has been bridged and perceptions have changed. Australia has chosen partnerships with the EU that enhance its economic and political choices. Links with a long-term partner, the UK, are being recast as Brexit presents a new challenge at a time of Australia’s stronger engagement with the EU through a key agreement and trade talks. Finally, the article argues that Australia and the EU are critical friends.
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ItemEurope and the World: The Problem of the Fourth Wall in EU-ASEAN Norms Promotion(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2015)
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ItemThe End of a Noble Narrative? European Integration Narratives after the Nobel Peace Prize(WILEY, 2016-01)Abstract The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize 2012 to the EU (European Union) came as a surprise. Not only was the eurozone economic crisis undermining both policy effectiveness and public support for the EU, but it was also seriously challenging the EU's image in global politics. The eurozone crisis, the Nobel Prize and the search for a ‘new narrative for Europe’ demonstrate that the processes of European integration are always narrated as sense‐making activities – stories people tell to make sense of their reality. This article argues in favour of a narrative approach to European integration through the construction and application of an analytical framework drawing on different theoretical perspectives. This framework is then applied to six European integration narratives to demonstrate the value of a narrative approach. The article concludes that narrative analysis provides a means of understanding both EU institutional and non‐institutional narratives of European integration.
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ItemIdeas of Regionalism: The European Case(CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS, 2011-08)Abstract This article traces the development of major ideas about integration in Europe. It examines the historical development of, and competition between, ideas about the EU, exploring the clash of integration models and ideals. It draws on the visions of European unity that led to the creation and development of the EU. Regional integration in the EU is distinctive and not necessarily ‘exportable’. The article examines governing norms, material interests, power, and security. It demonstrates that the narrative of shared experience and history formed part of a need to both overcome hyper-nationalism and to share sovereignty, while also privileging some memories. EU norms are also enshrined in a distinctive institutionalized structure, based on a co-existence of national and EU interests and a balancing among often competing interests.
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ItemExporting a new public space? reflections on the EU integration experience as a paradigm(PALGRAVE MACMILLAN LTD, 2008-09)