Description
The relationship between the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia is long and deep. It is characterised by strong people-to-people links, shared military endeavours especially during the 20th century, and close – if lessening – trade ties. Since Brexit (2016-20), this relationship has been the focus of more attention from both the Australian and UK governments that at any time since the UK’s accession to the EEC in 1973. Despite the very positive energy galvanising this relationship from the Brexit referendum in 2016 to the signing of a Free Trade Agreement and the announcement of the AUKUS pact in 2021, differences between the two countries remain. Indeed, it may be that there are certain asymmetries in the relationship that are rarely mentioned in public discourse: Australia is a junior partner in the relationship; and there is a degree of scepticism towards the idea of ‘Global Britain’ and the Indo-Pacific Tilt amongst Australian policy elites. Based on semi-structured interviews with opinion-formers in Australia and the UK, this paper will present empirical findings on elite perceptions of the post-Brexit Australia-UK relationship in the context of the challenges of the 2020s.
