Statecraft

During her speech at the National Press Club this week, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong argued that the “unprecedented” circumstances our region faces “require a response of unprecedented coordination and ambition in our statecraft”. Wong identified many key tools of Australia’s statecraft:

• Importantly, Wong also also observed that “our national power, more than anything else, comes from our people”.
• Yet, she noted, the number of Australian diplomats working in the Pacific had actually shrunk under the previous government.

What is statecraft?

Statecraft is a word increasingly used by leaders, officials and commentators to describe the actions that states take to try to influence:
• Many believe that, to earn the most influence, Australia’s tools of statecraft should come with big price tags and flashy announcements.
• In the Pacific, for instance, the government is fond of announcing big pledges of developmental aid, infrastructure projects and military assistance.

Diplomats are not all the same

• The past openings of Australian-funded facilities become their announcements, even though the person in the social media thumbnail is not same as the one in the commemorative photos.
• Officially, foreign policy is as emotionless and cut-and-paste as these official Twitter accounts.
• It is as if Australian foreign policy officials are grown from pods in the basement of the R.G.
• But this reality attracts surprisingly little attention in much of the analysis that is done on the effectiveness of Australia’s statecraft.

Why kindness and empathy matter

• This is why we’re studying the role individuals play in implementing Australian statecraft in the Pacific Islands and Timor-Leste.
• It is the kiss of death to a project if an individual is arrogant or patronising or somehow offends their hosts.
• Read more:
  Despite its Pacific 'step-up', Australia is still not listening to the region, new research shows

Roads and mobile networks only go so far

• Australia can build roads, train police, buy telcos and build submarines, but if the people representing the country and implementing its policies aren’t polite, respectful and trustworthy, then it might as well not bother.
• This activity was supported by the Australian Government through a grant by the Australian Department of Defence.
• The views expressed herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Australian Government or the Australian Department of Defence.