John Blaxland – författare

Thailand, a long-standing defence partner of the United States and ASEAN’s second largest economy, occupies a geostrategically important position as a land bridge between China and maritime Southeast Asia. This book, based on extensive original research, explores the current state of US-Thai relations, paying particular attention to how the United States is perceived by a wide range of people in the Thai defence establishment and highlighting the importance of historical memory. The book outlines how the US-Thai relationship has been complicated and at times turbulent, discusses how Thailand is deeply embedded in multi-faceted relationships with many Asian states, not just China, and examines how far the United States is blind to the complexities of Asian international relations by focusing too much on China. The book concludes by assessing how US-Thai relations are likely to develop going forward. Additionally, the work contributes to alliance theory by showing how domestic politics shapes memory, which in turn affects perceptions of other states.

It has been over fifteen years since the 1999 Intervention into East Timor, led by Australia with the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET). This collection of essays brings together a wide range of participants in the momentous events of 1999 and provides a timely reflection on how they see it - reflecting on the meaning, the consequences and the implications arising from the Timor intervention. East Timor Intervention encompasses eye-witness accounts of events on the ground as well as in the political sphere, including: Major General Mike Smith; Professor Hugh White, then Deputy Secretary Strategy in the Department of Defence in Canberra; Admiral Chris Barrie, Chief of the Defence Force at the time; General Sir Peter Cosgrove; Retired Indonesian Major General Kiki Syahnakri who stoutly defends Indonesia's role; and Professor Damien Kingsbury who spells out the scale of the crimes committed. His Excellency Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao seeks to rise above the enmity of the past and focus on the significance of INTERFET to East Timor and the path of reconciliation to the future. This is the landmark collection of work on the events of the INTERFET intervention.

Army has always been faced with the questions of what type of war it should aim to prepare for, and in what context it should prepare. Mobilising the Australian Army explores the rich history of the Australian Army, the challenges of preparing armies for war in uncertain times, and the many possibilities for their continuing strength and future success. Comprising research presented at the 2021 Chief of Army History Conference, this collection examines how contingency and compromise are crucial elements for both the historical and the modern-day Army. Key themes include the mobilisation of resources for war in the first half of the twentieth century, the employment of women in the war effort at a time of rapid force expansion, alliance and concurrency pressures in the Cold War and post-Cold War years, utilisation in crisis and war of the reserve forces, and deployment challenges in the 1990s and beyond. Written by leading Australian and international military historians and practitioners, Mobilising the Australian Army will appeal to both casual history enthusiasts and future Army.

Thailand, a long-standing defence partner of the United States and ASEAN’s second largest economy, occupies a geostrategically important position as a land bridge between China and maritime Southeast Asia. This book, based on extensive original research, explores the current state of US-Thai relations, paying particular attention to how the United States is perceived by a wide range of people in the Thai defence establishment and highlighting the importance of historical memory. The book outlines how the US-Thai relationship has been complicated and at times turbulent, discusses how Thailand is deeply embedded in multi-faceted relationships with many Asian states, not just China, and examines how far the United States is blind to the complexities of Asian international relations by focusing too much on China. The book concludes by assessing how US-Thai relations are likely to develop going forward. Additionally, the work contributes to alliance theory by showing how domestic politics shapes memory, which in turn affects perceptions of other states.

The Australian Army from Whitlam to Howard is the first critical examination of Australia's post-Vietnam military operations, spanning the 35 years between the election of Gough Whitlam and the defeat of John Howard. John Blaxland explores the 'casualty cringe' felt by political leaders following the war and how this impacted subsequent operations. He contends that the Australian Army's rehabilitation involved common individual and collective training and reaffirmation of the Army's regimental and corps identities. He shows how the Army regained its confidence to play leading roles in East Timor, Bougainville and the Solomon Islands, and to contribute to combat operations further afield. At a time when the Australian Army's future strategic role is the subject of much debate, and as the 'Asian Century' gathers pace and commitment in Afghanistan draws to an end, this work is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the modern context of Australia's military land force.

This unofficial account of Australian Signals intelligence reveals the organisation's efforts to reveal the secrets of others.What is Australian signals intelligence? Why do we have a national signals intelligence agency and why are our three armed services involved? What do they all do and why is it controversial? And how significant are our ties with the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand, the formidable Five Eyes partnership?For a long time, much of the Australian Signals intelligence (or Sigint) story has been kept secret. Revealing Secrets unearths the fascinating story of the organisation that collects intelligence about foreign adversaries, and keeps our own national secrets safe, not forgetting the vital signals intelligence contribution of our three armed services. This book provides historical context, including how techniques used today for breaking codes draw on methods devised centuries earlier. It explains clearly what Sigint is, how it works and its connection with cyber. Security experts John Blaxland and Clare Birgin shine a light on the Australians whose efforts were for so long unknown and why they were so important to the country. They discuss the essential, and largely unheralded, contribution of women from before the Second World War to today. By lifting the veil on this hidden, frequently misunderstood, but absolutely integral part of Australian statecraft, Revealing Secrets deepens our understanding of the past, the present and what may lie ahead.