Pacific Power? Australia's strategy in the Pacific Islands (Melbourne University Press, 2017)

Informed by interviews with key decision makers, Pacific Power? analyses why Australia has had difficulty exercising influence in the Pacific Islands and identifies how Australia can more effectively influence Pacific Island states in pursuit of its strategic interests, and how Australia can present itself more as a Pacific partner than power. Published as part of the prestigious MUP Defence Studies Series, this book represents the first attempt to provide a comprehensive account of Australia’s activities in the Pacific Islands since 1975. It has been reviewed in Security Challenges.

This research has been discussed in the media and cited in the Australian government's Foreign Policy White Paper Public Consultation Summary Report and the Defence White Paper Expert Panel Report. It has also informed policy papers written for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and International Institute of Strategic Studies and the Security, Politics and Development Network at Massey University.

I received the Australian Institute of International Affairs 2014-2015 Publication Support Grant to support this project. This grant is made to facilitate the publication of an original and high-quality book on a contemporary topic of major relevance to Australian foreign policy.

In preparation for this book, in February 2013 I co-convened a workshop at the ANU on the topic, 'The South Pacific: from 'arc of instability' to 'arc of opportunity'?', with Sinclair Dinnen. Sinclair and I spoke with Gordon Peake about the intent of the workshop in an interview that can be found here. The workshop featured participants from across the Pacific and Australia and included the launch of a special issue of Security Challenges I guest edited on the topic 'Security in the Pacific Arc'.

Pacific Partners? The operation and endurance of the Australia-New Zealand alliance in the Pacific Islands (ARC Discovery Project DP200101994, 2020-2025) 

With Anna Powles (Massey University) I am analysing how the Australia-New Zealand alliances operates, in particular, how the two states manage differing approaches and interests, and why it endures. We are answering these questions using in-depth analysis of the alliance in the Pacific Islands, the region in which it has primarily played out. Our project website is here.

Our initial policy paper is Australia and New Zealand in the Pacific Islands: Ambiguous Allies? 

Our first article, which explores alliance management - particularly burden-sharing - under the Australia-New Zealand and Australia-US alliances, has been published in International Affairs.

Our second policy paper, Smooth sailing? Australia, New Zealand and the United States partnering in - and with - the Pacific islands made several recommendations for how the three partner countries could use their alliances to improve their cooperation and engagement in the region.

In November 2023 (Canberra) and February 2024 (Wellington) we held workshops with experts from both sides of the Tasman to identify key strengths and emerging tensions in the Australia-New Zealand alliance. Papers based on these workshops will be published in a special issue of the Australian Journal of International Affairs in late 2024.

How does the Pacific fit into the 'Indo-Pacific'? The changing geopolitics of the Pacific Islands

On 6 and 7 June 2019 I co-convened a workshop at the ANU on the topic 'How does the 'Pacific' fit into the 'Indo-Pacific'? The changing geopolitics of the Pacific Islands' with James Batley and Anthony Bergin. The workshop featured speakers from across the Pacific, Australia and New Zealand.

Recordings are available on the event website. And we have prepared a workshop report.

A special issue of Security Challenges based on the workshop was published in early 2020.