best intro to international relations books

Milar’s 1978 Australia in Peace and War’. The former head of the Office of National Assessments is now the national president of the AIIA, but beyond any conflict of interest, we’re sure IR enthusiasts would appreciate what Wesley describes as the first systematic history of Australian foreign policy since T.B. “ Fear of Abandonment is a grand story and brilliantly told,” declared Michael Wesley in his review of Gyngell’s latest book when it was released last year. In no particular order, and with full acknowledgement that no such list will ever be complete, here are 10 of our top picks from the the last year, grist to the mill for the modern international affairs enthusiast:įear of Abandonment: Australia in the World Since 1942 by Allan Gyngell Most of the books listed below have already been reviewed in Australian Outlook, but please keep an eye out for reviews of the others in coming months. Highlights have included globe-crossing memoirs (see Gareth Evans and Mark Colvin), history (don’t miss Allan Gyngell and Shashi Tharoor) and early analyses of the new geopolitics marked by Brexit, Trump and China as Great Power (Hugh White and Richard Haas). The last 12 months have provided rich pickings when it comes to international affairs reading from both Australian authors and international writers.

If the season has slipped away without the chance to catch up, we recommend putting these on top of your bedside table pile for 2018. As the holiday season comes to an end, we thought it a good time to take stock of some of the tomes we think it would have been good to have had on your beach reading list.

Best intro to international relations books