| Abstrakt: |
After almost 35 years of effective defense cooperation among allies, the Western world's collective security arrangement involving Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, better known as ANZUS, started to crumble. This surprised and frustrated many in all three nations, since ANZUS was considered a "showcase" alliance because of its strong foundation and special trilateral partnership, despite an asymmetrical arrangement that gave disproportionate influence to the smaller players. From the mid-1980s onward, old and new dilemmas caused the alliance structure to undergo great weakening and stress and made problem fixing difficult. As cracks in the alliance appeared, serious security issues became intertwined with economic and social ones, the no-nuclear policy of New Zealand being one of the most visible. This article examines pertinent features surrounding ANZUS changes, assesses their impacts, and addresses ways for shoring up ANZUS foundations in the future. |
