It’s complicated: a timeline of Australia–Iran relations in a historical perspective

This paper seeks to contextualise Australia’s bilateral relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran upon the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations, and at a time when the potential for military conflict is escalating.It canvasses key milestones and events in the bilateral relationship from 1945 to the present. It argues that one of the key continuities in the post-1945 relationship has been the difficulty involved in balancing what has traditionally been a relatively strong bilateral trade relationship with Australia’s broader non-proliferation and global security interests.  Concern over the nuclear program and state-sponsored terrorism in recent years has shifted the balance in favour of a focus on security issues and, consequently, towards the position of Australia’s key partners (especially the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), Canada and the European Union (EU)) on sanctions. This ‘rebalance’ will only be sharpened (and the scope to follow a more independent policy diminish) if Iran continues down the nuclear path and the likelihood of a military solution increases. Iran’s continuing resistance to provide appropriate assurances about the objectives of its nuclear program is increasing inter-state tensions in the volatile Middle East region, prompting Israel to strengthen its military capacities in the lead-up to the potential conflict. &nbsp

The role of pro-reform civil society in Serbia’s accession to the EU: oppositional discourses, watchdog role and EU advocacy

This article critically assesses the role of pro-reform and pro-EU civil society in the process of Serbia’s accession to the European Union (EU). Civil society (the so-called non-government or third sector) has played a fundamental role in the democratisation of former Communist countries, including in the Western Balkans where the majority of aspirant EU members still reside. Serbia’s democratic transformation began soon after its regime-change occurred on 5 October 2000. This country’s process of democratic consolidation is ongoing and is strongly supported by pro-EU civil society actors who are key drivers of Europeanisation. Civil society organisations and actors have increased general knowledge about the quality of democratic reforms in Serbia and brought in technical expertise which has assisted Serbian society to align better with the EU’s acquis. Specific examples of civil society’s activism in this article will demonstrate some unique characteristics of Serbia’s third sector. Its evolution from an anti-war movement and loosely connected individuals and citizens’ associations in the 1990s to becoming a major advocate of EU membership in Serbia and a partner to the Serbian Government on EU accession is worthy of further academic research and analysis

Historical Lessons for Australia's Foreign Policy: The Case of British EEC Membership

The Australian Government's attitudes towards major events in international politics such as the UK's entry into the European Economic Community (EEC) in the past and Brexit negotiations today, carry greater weight than previously assumed in political science literature. Australia was critical of the EEC (now called the European Union, EU) in the early 1960s, when its then most important trading partner, the United Kingdom (UK) first applied for membership. Australia was ill-prepared to deal with the repercussions from Britain's entry into the EU, as Australian foreign policy was heavily influenced by local as well as international anti-EEC attitudes. This paper will analyse political debates in Australia during the 1960s and early 1970s with reference to parliamentary Hansard records and newspaper articles in order to suggest a new framework for Australian foreign policy analysis

European Union’s enlargement fatigue: Russia’s and China’s rise in Southeast Europe?

Enlargement fatigue has descended upon the European Union (EU) institutions, which remain focused on resolving the Brexit crisis and ongoing internal reforms. This multi-faceted phenomenon has directly caused the so-called accession fatigue in potential EU members, which are increasingly turning to other geopolitical alternatives. Russia and China are the new dominant powerbrokers in the EU’s immediate neighbourhood, courting political and business elites in EU candidate states and offering an alternative foreign policy option which contrasts with the stalled EU enlargement process. This paper discusses the rise of these external powers in the EU’s immediate neighbourhood, suggesting three scenarios for the future of the Balkan region where the EU, Russia and China are more vigorously vying for influence than ever before

What Australia can tell us about the outlook for the new China-EU investment agreement

At the end of 2020, China and the EU reached agreement on a new investment deal, the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI). Rémy Davison and Nina Markovic Khaze draw on Australia’s relations with China to identify some key lessons for the EU

Political relations between the European Union and Serbia in a broader historical perspective : assessing normative obstacles to Serbia's european integration

This thesis will investigate key trends in the political relationship between the EU and Serbia within a broader historical context. In order to better understand obstacles to EU accession by the remaining non-EU states in the Western Balkans, it is necessary to investigate their normative, or ideational foundations. Serbia is among the last few post-socialist countries from the Western Balkans to negotiate accession conditions with the EU. This is paradoxical in the sense that Serbia is a successor state to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which was the first socialist country to successfully conclude a comprehensive trade agreement with the EU in 1970. Normative and domestic political factors have presented, over the years, serious obstacles to Serbia's European integration process. There are different views about the nature of the political factors that have caused a delay in Serbia's adoption of EU standards and norms. A conventional approach to this research question is to examine Serbia's performance against the strict accession criteria of the EU's political conditionality. This dissertation, however, embarks on analysing the role of normative factors in the complex and inherently social process that is Serbia's European integration. Based on fieldwork interviews with policymakers from Serbia and the EU, this thesis contends that the role of mainstream national discourses, informal institutions and diplomatic practices, and 'collective memory' has had a significant influence on Serbia's adoption of EU standards, directly impacting also on the EU conditionality towards Serbia. The EU's foreign policy towards Serbia produced better results for mutual cooperation when the EU adopted an innovative diplomatic approach by engaging in dialogue with the Serbian opposition

Neonatal outcomes associated with time from a high fetal blood lactate concentration to operative delivery

Introduction: Adjunctive technologies to cardiotocography intend to increase the specificity of the diagnosis of fetal hypoxia. If correctly diagnosed, time to delivery could affect neonatal outcome. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effect of time from when fetal distress is indicated by a high fetal blood sample (FBS) lactate concentration to operative delivery on the risk of adverse neonatal outcomes. Material and methods: We conducted a prospective observational study. Deliveries with a singleton fetus in cephalic presentation at 36+0weeks of gestation or later were included. Adverse neonatal outcomes, related to decision-to-delivery interval (DDI), were investigated in operative deliveries indicated by an FBS lactate concentration of at least 4.8 mmol/L. We applied logistic regression to estimate crude and adjusted odds ratios (aOR) of various adverse neonatal outcomes, with associated 95% confidence intervals (CI), for a DDI exceeding 20 minutes, compared with a DDI of 20 minutes or less. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04779294. Results: The main analysis included 228 women with an operative delivery indicated by an FBS lactate concentration of 4.8 mmol/L or greater. The risk of all adverse neonatal outcomes was significantly increased for both DDI groups compared with the reference group (deliveries with an FBS lactate below 4.2 mmol/L within 60 minutes before delivery). In operative deliveries indicated by an FBS lactate concentration of 4.8 mmol/L or more, there was a significantly increased risk of a 5-minute Apgar score less than 7 if the DDI exceeded 20 minutes, compared with a DDI of 20 minutes or less (aOR 8.1, 95% CI 1.1–60.9). We found no statistically significant effect on other short-term outcomes for deliveries with DDI longer than 20 minutes, compared with those with DDI of 20 minutes or less (pH ≤7.10: aOR 2.0, 95% CI 0.5–8.4; transfer to the neonatal intensive care unit: aOR 1.1, 95% CI 0.4–3.5). Conclusions: After a high FBS lactate measurement, the increased risk of adverse neonatal outcome is further augmented if the DDI exceeds 20 minutes. These findings give support to current Norwegian guidelines for intervention in cases of fetal distress.publishedVersio