International Relations and Foreign Policy in the Australian Journal of Political Science: A Review

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Taylor & Francis
William T. Tow, ‘International Relations and Foreign Policy in the Australian Journal of Political Science: A Review’, Australian Journal of Political Science, 50(4) 2015: 627-38.
The Australian Journal of Political Science (AJPS) has evolved from an initial publication deliberately relegating articles in international relations (IR) to a secondary status to one that has defined and encouraged leading-edge contributions to that field. This development can be attributed to successive AJPS editorial teams’ realisation that contemporary political problems are increasingly interconnected and that emerging approaches to IR reflect this condition. Several recent and key IR debates that have emerged within the journal’s pages are assigned special attention here: the linking of Australia’s domestic politics to that country’s foreign policy interests and behaviour; in-depth discussions that relate to ongoing trends in the international political economy; critical analysis of national defence and regional security postures; and diverse theoretical perspectives that are increasingly shaping the IR field’s paradigmatic identity. It is concluded that the AJPS is now a leading source of IR thought and discourse.