Cut Through

Revisiting Paul Keating’s legacy: Australian foreign policy and national identity

Cut Through

Show Notes

Paul Keating was prime minister of a very different Australia, in a very different geopolitical environment from that of today. How does his ambition for Australia hold up 30 years later? Crikey politics editor Bernard Keane and Professor James Curran from the University of Sydney discuss Keating’s legacy, and whether his approach to foreign policy suffered from the curse of being “right, but too early”.

Today’s episode covers: Shaping foreign policy in a post-Cold War world Winston Churchill’s influence on Keating Australia and Asia under Keating Indonesian President Suharto’s impact on Keating Reimagining Australia’s national identity Keating’s view of the US alliance: then and now Sliding doors: The 1996 election loss

Read more: Grand Ambition: Paul Keating's global vision for Australia by James Curran Paul Keating and a very present past raise hard questions for a country of decidedly modest ambition

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