Australia as a good international citizen: from Barton to Howard: an international law perspective

Abstract

This thesis has its genesis in the perception that in the last 25 years or so Australia acquired, and then lost, an international reputation disproportionate to its size and status as a middle power — a reputation as a “good international citizen”. This gave rise to an interest in seeking to test the truth or accuracy of that perception, and also to place it in an historical context, by comparing the relevant aspects of Australia’s reputation in this 25-year period with earlier periods in its post-Federation history.