Australian Indonesian Relations Since 1945

An account of relations between Australia and Indonesia during the period between 1945 and 1997. Indonesia and Australia, while not each other's closest neighbours, are geographically close to one another. This geographic proximity, however, has not resulted in their sharing of many characteristics. It has often been argued that the enormous differences between the two countries has been a major factor behind the uneven and erratic history of their relationship. This study explores the extent to which this has remained the case in the 1990s. In approaching the theme, it adopts historical and systematic approaches and argues that interactions between two such middle powers cannot be understood separately from the overall trends of global politics. It also adopts the view that despite the large differences in size, culture, wealth and political systems - geography has dictated that the two countries share similar geo-political interest and on that basis, a decent working relationship has been painstakingly built against a difficult background.