McCausland, Jeffrey D., Douglas T. Stuart, William T. Tow, Michael Wesley, eds. The Other Special Relationship: The United States and Australia at the Start of the 21st Century. Carlisle Barracks, PA: U.S. Army Strategic Studies Institute, 2007.

This volume summarizes the major findings of the conference participants over the last year. Beyond the thematic resemblance between this volume and the previous study of U.S.-UK relations, another similarity is the importance of two events in determining London and Canberra’s relations with Washington. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 (9/11) represent the first turning point. The British and Australian governments reacted similarly to these attacks—immediately identifying 9/11 as a transformative moment in international relations. But the Australian Prime Minister’s presence in Washington, DC, during the 9/11 terrorist attacks intensified the personal impact of the events, and within a few days his government had invoked the ANZUS Treaty to offer its full support to the United States. The second “big event” dominating both U.S.-UK relations and U.S.-Australia relations has been America’s management of the Global War on Terror and, in particular, its leadership of the ongoing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Jeffrey McCausland is a visiting professor of International Security Studies at Dickinson College.

Douglas Stuart is a professor of Political Science and International Studies at Dickinson College.

For more information on the published version, visit The Strategic Studies Institute's Website.

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