The ANZUS Treaty during the Cold War: a reinterpretation of U.S. diplomacy in the Southwest Pacific

Robb, Thomas K.; Gill, David James

Abstract

This article explains the origins of the Australia–New Zealand–United States (ANZUS) Treaty by highlighting U.S. ambitions in the Pacific region after World War II. Three clarifications to the historiography merit attention. First, an alliance with Australia and New Zealand reflected the pursuit of U.S. interests rather than the skill of antipodean diplomacy. Despite initial reservations in Washington, geostrategic anxiety and economic ambition ultimately spurred cooperation. The U.S. government's eventual recourse to coercive diplomacy against the other ANZUS members, and the exclusion of Britain from the alliance, substantiate claims of self-interest. Second, the historiography neglects the economic rationale underlying the U.S. commitment to Pacific security. Regional cooperation ensured the revival of Japan, the avoidance of discriminatory trade policies, and the stability of the Bretton Woods monetary system. Third, scholars have unduly played down and misunderstood the concept of race. U.S. foreign policy elites invoked ideas about a “White Man's Club” in Asia to obscure the pursuit of U.S. interests in the region and to ensure British exclusion from the treaty.

Citation

Robb, T. K., & Gill, D. J. (2015). The ANZUS Treaty during the Cold War: a reinterpretation of U.S. diplomacy in the Southwest Pacific. Journal of Cold War Studies, 17(4), https://doi.org/10.1162/JCWS_a_00599

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 1, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Jan 6, 2016
• Publication Date: Nov 24, 2015
• Deposit Date: Sep 25, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 24, 2015
• Journal: Journal of Cold War Studies
• Print ISSN: 1520-3972
• Electronic ISSN: 1531-3298
• Publisher: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 17
• Issue: 4
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/JCWS_a_00599
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/773551
• Publisher URL: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/JCWS_a_00599?journalCode=jcws#.Vw-uKEdS3Yg
• Additional Information: This is a manuscript version of the article accepted for publication in Journal of Cold War Studies.
• Contract Date: Sep 25, 2015