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Status, Maintenance Of Security, And Militarized Foreign Policy, Filip Viskupic

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

How does status affect foreign policy outcomes? Scholars have long argued that status is a salient foreign policy driver and that states even fight for status, but there is no consensus on how to think about this relationship. I propose that unpacking the link between status and role in international relations can help scholars analyze how status shapes national security outcomes. I illustrate the usefulness of this framework on the processes leading to Australia’s intervention in the Solomon Islands. An analysis of speeches by Australia’s leaders reveals that concern for maintaining Australia’s status as the leader of the Pacific and …