Canberra, Australia
During the post-Cold War years, Australia was something of a backwater in global politics. Rich in minerals and geographically remote, it was widely known as the “Lucky Country,” and its citizens were often even less engaged with world affairs than their American cousins. But as I learned this week, Australians today see themselves on the front lines of a new and dangerous era in international affairs.
Invited Down Under by the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council to give a series of talks on my recent book on US-Israel relations, I found myself less busy flogging my book or even discussing Middle East politics than I expected, and more engaged in sobering conversations with senior Australian policy makers, scholars and journalists about the gathering global storm.