AUKUS proves Australia and U.S. to be an Odd Couple [Video]

A new book by Allan Behm examines Australia’s partnership with the USA and the broader implications of the AUKUS agreement. Benedict Moleta considers the book’s breadth and lack of cynicism.

MUCH RECENT analysis of Australia’s alliance with the United States has focused on the implications of the AUKUS agreement. Allan Behm’s The Odd Couple: The Australia-America Relationship considers current defence questions but sets them in larger temporal and topical contexts.

The Odd Couple comes only two years after Behm’s previous book, No Enemies, No Friends: Restoring Australia’s Global Relevance.

Behm’s current position as Director of International and Security Affairs at The Australia Institute follows a public service career including First Assistant Secretary positions in the Department of Defence, two years as senior advisor to then Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, and four years as Chief of Staff to then Minister of Climate Change and Industry Greg Combet.

This was a period in the ‘stale air and …