James Cotton

After the dubious justice of the Treaty of Versailles and the turmoil of the interwar years, the League of Nations is mainly remembered as a body that failed to create mechanisms that might have forestalled the horrors of Nazism, fascism and World War II. It has understandably been overshadowed by the United Nations - that larger, more globally representative body that grew from the League and was founded on more unequivocally noble principles in the aftermath of a clear-cut victory of good over evil.But as the limitations of the United Nations become ever more apparent, we can look with more sympathy at the League and consider what we might learn from the endeavours of those driving this first attempt at global governmental coordination.As James Cotton relates in this illuminating account, a surprising number of Australians lent their talents and enthusiasm to this internationalist project, and Australian interests were prominently represented. Former Prime Minister Stanley Bruce was there, along with numerous other Australian men and women who made important contributions to international deliberations on questions of global organisation and interaction. This deeply researched and carefully realised story will recast understandings of both the League itself and the place within it of prominent interwar Australian internationalists.

This volume is the eleventh in a series initiated and sponsored by the Australian Institute of International Affairs, which has reviewed and analysed Australian foreign policy from 1950 onward. Australian foreign policy is an extremely important area of ongoing change which has direct impact on Australia's national interests in all dimensions. This series (released in a new edition every 5 years) captures the key characteristics, policy decisions and activities of the Australian government and its diplomatic staff during the preceeding 5 year period. The book provides a review of the most significant features of Australian foreign policy within its chosen time frame, the past five years. As with previous volumes in this series, in addition to commissioning chapters on Australia's major bilateral relationships and central questions in policy-making and execution, the editors have also included coverage of emerging or developing issues: in this volume, these chapters cover relations with Africa and with India, and innovations in the management of policy-making.

The impact across borders of transnational identities, business links and ideas has been on the international political agenda for a long time. These cross border phenomena have a steady and profound influence on domestic politics and international relations. However, they also represent a challenge because these factors can subvert accustomed views of sovereignty. The essays in this book stress the diversity and influence as well as the limitations of cross border phenomena in the Asia-Pacific, a region home to the principles of non-interference and respect for autonomy. Emerging from this collection is a picture of an area dynamically affected by the penetration of ideas, organised interests, and financial flows. Though national borders have become more porous, state power and local identities still resist, shape and modify cross border influences.