Unequal yet Dependent Security Relations: The Foundation of the Australia–United States Military Defense Alliance

Abstract

This research aims to understand the nature of the tightly-bound Australia–US military defense alliance as both countries are able to thrive through this alliance despite having a large gap in their capabilities of power and political standing. Henceforth, this research seeks to answer the reason behind why have Australia and the US maintained their alliance for all these years despite their huge differences in power. By utilizing a deductive logic approach and an in-depth narrative analysis in accordance to Morrow’s concept of Asymmetrical Alliances, findings show there is a division of roles based on the country’s power in the US–Australian alliance, where the US takes on the role of the major power and Australia holds the role of the minor power. Through this division of roles, it is concluded that the asymmetric nature in the Australia–US military defense alliance itself, shared threat perceptions from both countries, and the benefits they have reaped over the time through their trade commitments are the main reasons to why both countries refuse to let go of their tightly-bound alliance.