At the beginning of the 21st Century, Western powers are in the process of adjusting their military strategies to a rapidly changing security environment. Australia, throughout its history engaged in almost any major military conflict, has been no exemption. This book analyses the evolution of Australian military strategy during the leadership of Prime Minister John Howard (1996-2007) by analysing doctrinal changes, deployments, and force structure developments. It shows that during the ‘Howard Years’ Australian strategy was gradually redirected from a continental towards a maritime school of thought. Australia will continue to resort to the use of force in order to uphold its liberal values, making it an attractive coalition partner also for European powers engaged in global conflicts.

The Author: Benjamin Schreer specialises in military affairs and is currently research group leader in the Center of Excellence at the University of Konstanz (Germany). From 2003 to 2005 he was a research fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik) in Berlin.