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BurgmannJournal

R e s e a R c h D e b a t e O p i n i O n i s s u e V , 2 0 1 6

The Burgmann Journal is a multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed publication of collected works of research, debate and opinion from residents and alumni of Burgmann College, designed to engage and stimulate the wider community.

Published by ANU eView The Australian National University Acton ACT 2601, Australia email: [email protected] This title is also available online at eview.anu.edu.au

ISSN 2201-3881 (Print) ISSN 2201-3903 (Online)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Opinions published in the Burgmann Journal do not necessarily represent those of The Australian National University, Burgmann College, or the Editors.

Front cover: ‘Change’ by Sebastian Van Lieven, graphite and watercolour on paper, 2015.

This edition © 2016 ANU eView

EditorialTeamHaydonHughesEditor-in-ChiefEmilyLookEditorEmilyGallagherEditorZacRaysonEditorMitchellPorterEditorAnnabelleKlimtEditorEmilyBalesJuniorEditorBethanyEllisPhotographicEditor

AcademicRefereesDrWilliamBosworthLecturerSchoolofPoliticsandInternationalRelationsTheAustralianNationalUniversityDrAndrewCarrResearchFellowStrategicandDefenceStudiesCentreCollegeofAsiaandthePacificTheAustralianNationalUniversityDrCharlotteGallowayLecturerANUCollegeofArtsandSocialSciencesTheAustralianNationalUniversityDrColleenHayesSeniorLecturerResearchSchoolofAccountingTheAustralianNationalUniversityDrIanHigginsReaderinEnglishANUCollegeofArtsandSocialSciencesTheAustralianNationalUniversityMsMarijaTaflagaSchoolofPoliticsandInternationalRelationsTheAustralianNationalUniversity

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TTaabblleeooffCCoonntteennttssAuthors/Contributors........................................................................................................viiEditorial..................................................................................................................................ix

SSeeccttiioonnII::RReesseeaarrcchhEEssssaayyssGoodAddictionLarsJ.K.Moen............................................................................................................................1CorporateFinancialDisclosure:TheImportanceofGAAPMandatedEarningsAmidstDecliningValue-RelevanceTomH.Lillywhite....................................................................................................................15InterestGroupAdvocacy:AnAnalysisofGreenpeaceAustraliaPacificandtheMineralsCouncilofAustralia'sAdvocacyStrategiesBenedictMcCarthy..................................................................................................................21AustralianStrategicPolicyintheAsianCenturyNealReddan............................................................................................................................31RalphWaldoEmersonandtheRelationshipBetweenNatureandtheSelfIngridMao...............................................................................................................................45ChangingPerceptionsOverTime:TheInfluenceoftheEuropeanFantasyoftheOrientonEugeneDelacroix’sFemmesd’AlgerdansleurAppartementRebeccaBlake..........................................................................................................................51

SSeeccttiioonnIIII::OOppiinniioonnSino-AmericanNuclearRelations:TheNeedforCalmasChinaBecomesA21stCenturyNuclearStateJarrodFraser...........................................................................................................................69

SSeeccttiioonnIIIIII::CCrreeaattiivveeWWrriittiinnggEveningAirNicholasAntoniak...................................................................................................................75Radiance:AReviewMatthewClifford.....................................................................................................................77

SSeeccttiioonnIIVV::VViissuuaallAArrttss20MinutesFacesKateGarrow............................................................................................................................81FadingintotheNightHannahMerchant....................................................................................................................83ChangeSebastianvanLieven...............................................................................................................97EyesWideShutCharlotteWong.....................................................................................................................101

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AAuutthhoorrss//CCoonnttrriibbuuttoorrssNNiicchhoollaassAAnnttoonniiaakkisafirst-yearundergraduatecandidatestudyingaBachelorofArtsandhehasbeenaresidentatBurgmannCollegeforsixmonths.Nicholasintendstopursueacareerasawriterandhopestoonedaywriteanovel.RReebbeeccccaa BBllaakkee is a second-year candidate studying a Master of Art History andCuratorship.RebeccahasbeenaresidentatBurgmannCollegeforthepasttwoyears.Sheintendstocontinueherpost-graduatestudiesontherepresentationofNorthAfricaineighteenth-centuryFrenchart.MMaatttthheeww CClliiffffoorrdd is a first-year Law / Arts (Psychology) student at The AustralianNational University. A Burgmann College resident, Matthew intends to continue hisinvolvement in ANU and Burgmann College productions, and pursue his theatricalinterestsoutsideofuniveristy.JJaarrrrooddFFrraasseerrcompletedhisundergraduatedegreeattheUniversityofNewSouthWales,Canberra,andiscurrentlyapost-graduatecandidateattheStrategic&DefenceStudiesCentreatTheAustralianNationalUniversity.KKaattee GGaarrrroowwmoved toBurgmannCollege in 2016 to complete a combined degree ofBachelorofArtsandBachelorofLawwithamajorinEnglishliteratureandaminorinAnthropology.Beyondherstudies,Kateenjoysmanycreativepursuits,suchastheatre,music,cakedecoratingand,ofcourse,portraitdrawing.TToommHH.. LLiillllyywwhhiittee is in the final year of aMasters of Professional Accounting at TheAustralianNationalUniversity.HisundergraduatestudiesconsistedofaBachelorofArts,majoring in Political Science and Management Theory at the University of WesternAustralia.HismostadmiredhistoricalfigureisTheodoreRoosevelt,26thPresidentoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica.IInnggrriiddMMaaoo is a first-year candidate of aBachelor of Philosophy currently enrolled inSanskrit,Philosophy,Literature,andInternationalRelationsstudies.Asmaybereflectedthroughherwrittenpiece,Ingridfindsexpressioninwritingandaspirestoexperienceworldliteratureinitsvariouslanguagesandforms.BBeenneeddiiccttMMccCCaarrtthhyyisinhissecondyearofacombinedBachelorofArtsandBachelorofLaw, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Indonesian. McCarthy lives inBurgmann’s Undergraduate accommodation and in 2017will take up the role of thePresidentoftheBurgmannResidents’Association.Heisdelightedattheopportunitytopublishwith the Journal and is excited to seewhat othermembers of theBurgmannCommunityhavechosentocontribute.HHaannnnaahh MMeerrcchhaanntt is a first-year undergraduate student studying a Bachelor ofInternationalSecurity/Arts(FrenchandArabic)atTheAustralianNationalUniversity.Hannah has been a resident at Burgmann College over the last year, aftermoving toCanberrafromSydney.Sheislovinghertimeatuniversitysofar,participatinginawide

BurgmannJournalV(2016)

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rangeofactivitiessuchasrowing,basketball,volunteeringforAIMEandenjoyingcollegelife.LLaarrss JJ.. KK.. MMooeenn is a doctorate student with the School of Politics and InternationalRelations.Hisresearchfocusesonissuesrelatingtomoralandpoliticalphilosophy.NNeeaallRReeddddaannholdsaBachelorofBusiness(Economics&Finance)fromRMITUniversityandiscurrentlyundertakingaMasterofStrategicStudies(Advanced)atTheAustralianNationalUniversity.NealisaninternatTheAustralianStrategicPolicyInstitute,whoseresearch focuses on defence capability,military technology and Asia-Pacific strategicconcerns. SSeebbaassttiiaannvvaannLLiieevveenn isa first-yearcandidateofaBachelorofScienceandCommerce.SebastianhasbeenaresidentatBurgmannCollegesincethebeginningoftheyearandsincedevotingmoreofhistimetoartoverthelastfewmonthshasdecidedtotransfertoaVisualArtsdegree.CChhaarrlloottttee WWoonngg is currently a third-yearcandidate studying a Bachelor of Laws andBachelorofCommerce.CharlottehasbeenaresidentatBurgmannCollegeforthelastthreeyearsandafterherundergraduatestudiesshe intendstopursueacareer inthecommercial sector. In her spare time, she enjoyswatching criminal television shows,drawingandimagininglifeonacorgifarm.

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EEddiittoorriiaallIt iswithgreatpleasure that Ipresent the fiftheditionof theBurgmann Journal.Thisyear’seditioncoversanespeciallydiverserangeoftopics,whichthereaderwillnodoubtfindbothengagingandenjoyable.IamcontinuallysurprisedbytherangeofacademicinterestswhichenliventheBurgmannCommunity,andofwhichthis2016editionofthejournalisnoexception.SuchaneditionisacredittoallBurgmannresidents,whosehardworkandacademicendeavoursmakesuchapublicationpossible.

This2016editionofthejournalcapturestheimaginationlikenootherbeforeit;

from Lars Moen’s investigation of rationality and drug addiction, to Rebecca Blake’sexploration of the French artist Eugene Delacroix’s paintings, to Hannah Merchant’sintricatecollageworkinherseries‘FadingintotheNight’,thereaderwillfindnewandexcitingapproachestoavarietyofsubjects.

ThiseditioncanalsobeconsideredthefirstofanewgenerationofBurgies.The

journalhasmaturedsinceitsinauguraleditionin2012,andwiththedepartureoflastyear’seditorEllaRelf,sotheJournallostitsremaininglinktotheJournal’sfirstEditor-in-Chief,PatrickCarvalho.As the journal looks to the future, it isonly fitting that thiseditionshouldpresentnewavenuesforthought.IamimmenselyproudtointroduceanewCreativeWritingsectiontotheJournal.IfIshouldleaveanyeditoriallegacy,Ishouldhope thatNicholasAntoniak’spiece ‘EveningAir’ is the firstofmany fictionpieces toadornthesepagesinfutureeditions.

Onapersonalnote,mytwoyearsontheJournal,andatBurgmannCollege,will

come to an end at the completion of this academic year.Working on the BurgmannJournal has been a particular highlight of my time at the college. I am continuallyimpressedbytheintellectualaptitudeoftheBurgmannCommunity,andhopethatIhaveplayedsomepartincontributingtothecollege’sintellectualtradition–onethatwillnodoubtcontinueforyearstocome.

HaydonHughesEditor-In-Chief

Section I: Research Essays

Good Addiction ByLarsJ.K.Moen

ABSTRACT:Thispaperarguesthatdrugaddictioncanberational.Thepaperargues for rationality as a necessary component of a good life, and viewspaternalistic intervention as appropriate only if intended to preventnecessarilyirrationalbehaviour.Drugaddictionisnotnecessarilyirrational.Firstofall,drugaddictsdonotlosethecapacitytoconsiderwhetherornottoconsumetheirdesireddrug,andtoactaccordingly.Andsecondly,fromalong-term aswell as a short-term perspective, drug addictsmay consider theiraddictionsmorebeneficialthanharmful.Interventions,then,shouldonlybeinformative,notpreventative.Paternalisticpoliciesshouldonlyaimtoinformaddictsoftheconsequencesoftheiraddictions,theyshouldnotdenyaccesstodrugs.

IInnttrroodduuccttiioonnDrugaddictsarecommonlybelievedtocompulsivelyconsumedrugsthatarebadforthem(Levy 2006, 429). Proponents of paternalism argue that such behaviour should be

discouragedorprohibitedbecauseitisirrationalandinevitablymakespeopleworseoff(Dworkin1972,36).Therefore,noonewilltrulyobjecttoregulationsmakingthesedrugslessavailable(Goodin1989,34).Libertarians,however,rejectpaternalism.Theybelievethat individualsshouldcare for themselves,andarguethatnoonecanknowanother’sinterestbetter than thepersonherself.1Nomatterhow irrational theirbehaviourmayseem, addicts have a right to act upon their addictive desires (Berlin 1969, 133-134).Deprivingthemofthisright,libertariansargue,isdegradingandneverjustified(Berlin1969,137,157).Withoutdenyingtheimportanceofrationalityinhumanaction,Iwilldefendthefreedomtoconsumeaddictivedrugs.Paternalismmaybepermissibleinothercases,butIrejectpaternalisticactionaimedatprotectingpeoplefromdrugaddiction.Atthecoreofthisessayisthefollowingquestion:Howcanitberationaltoconsumeaddictive

1Thegenderneutral‘they’and‘heorshe’sometimescauseobscurityorawkwardness.WhereIconsideritnecessary, I will use a gendered singular pronoun when referring to a generic person, and alternatebetweenthegenders.


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andpotentiallyharmfuldrugs?Addictionisanurgentappetitivedesireforasubstancerecurringperiodicallyandcanbesatisfiedonlytemporarily(Foddy&Savulescu2010,36).Thesedesirescansometimesinfluencepeopletoactcontrarytotheirowntrueinterests.Addictsfinditdifficulttoignoretheirdesires,andlong-termdrugusemaybeharmful.But consuming addictive drugs can still be rational. The drugs do not make theirconsumersloseself-control,andtheymaycausemoregoodthanbadeffects.

IwillfirstconsiderJohnRawls’sunderstandingofrationalityasanecessarypartofagoodlife(1999,392).Hebelievesthatirrationalpeopleshouldbehelpedtofollowarationallifeplan(1999,218).CriticsarguethatRawlsimposesunacceptableconstraintsuponindividuals,butIwilldefendRawls’sviewbyshowingthatheencouragesindividualdeliberation.What is important here is that rationalitymerely requires individuals toconsidertheconsequencesoftheiractionsbeforetheyact.Itdoesnottellpeoplehowtobehave. In the second and third sections I demonstrate how this understanding ofrationalityaccommodatesdrugconsumption.Firstofall,drugaddictiondoesnotmeanlossofself-control.Althoughdrugsmaystronglyinfluencetheirusers,theycannottakecontroloverthem.Peoplecannotbecomehelplesstotheirdrugdesireswithoutbelievinginthedrugs’powertodominatethem.Inthelastsection,Iarguethatdrugscandomoregoodthanharm.Healthandfinancialproblemscausedbylong-termdrugconsumptionmaybe aprice addicts are trulywilling topay for thedrugs’ hedonic effects.However,measurestoinformpeopleabouttheseconsequencesarepermissible.Ultimately,Idenythe permissibility of paternalistic policies preventing people from consuming drugs.However, Idonot formasufficientargumentagainstprohibitionandtaxationofdrugs.Such a claim requires a thorough consideration of possible harm to others and socialimpactsthatIdonotofferhere.Ionlyconsiderdrugs’impactupontheirusers.RRaattiioonnaalliittyyaannddtthheeGGooooddWeallseekrewardsthroughouractions,but individuallywearemotivatedbydifferentkindsofrewards(Elster1999,141).Sohowcanonetellanotherthathisbehaviourisbadforhim?Paternalism,GeraldDworkinexplains,interfereswithpeople’sliberty‘toachieveagoodwhichisnotrecognisedassuchbythosepersonsforwhomthegoodisintended’(1972,69).Paternalisticactionisintendedtohelppeopledowhattheywouldhavedonehadtheybeenfullyrational(Dworkin1972,77).

LarsJ.K.Moen|GoodAddiction

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Whatdoesitmeantoberational,andwhyisitsoimportant?JohnRawls’sanswer

isthateveryonewantstoleadagoodlife,andagoodliferequiresarationallifeplan(1999,79–80, 371). Rationality, he explains, involves awareness and consideration of relevantinformation(1999,358–359).Itenablesindividualstoformtheirownconceptionsofthegood(Rawls1999,79–80).Similarly, JonElsterconsidersitrationaltochoosethe ‘bestmeans of satisfying the desires of the agent… grounded in the information available’(1999,142–145).Rationalactionmaynotalwaysleadtodesiredends,but,asRawlsputsit, ‘wedonotregretfollowingarationalplan’(1999,370).IunderstandRawlstomeanthatarationaldecisionisadecisionwhoseconsequencesmaybeeithergoodorbad,butwecannotlookbackatitandthinkthatwe,thereandthen,hadagoodreasontochoosedifferently.ThisdefinitionofrationalityisthebasisforRawls’s‘thintheoryofthegood’(1999,348,392).Weshould find thegood inourownseparateways,heargues,butaconceptionofthegoodmustberational(1999,393).Ifnot,itisnotgood(1999,393).

Rawls identifies certain goods that every ‘rationalmanwantswhatever else he

wants’,andcallsthese‘primarygoods’(1999,79).Regardlessoftheendswepursueinlife,wewillalwaysprefermoreofthesegoodsratherthanless(Rawls1999,79).Rawlsdividesthesegoods into two subcategories: social andnatural (1999,54).The socialprimarygoodsarerights,liberties,opportunities,incomeandwealth,andself-respect(1999,54,380). And the natural primary goods include ‘health and vigor, intelligence andimagination’(Rawls1999,54).Sincetheprimarygoodsfitintoeveryrationalconceptionofthegood,Rawlsbelieveshisthintheoryofthegoodtobemorallyuncontroversial(1999,354–355).Carelessnesstowardsone’sshareofthesegoodscannotreflectone’sowntruewill(1999,219).Paternalisticinterferencepreventingpeoplefromsuchactionisthereforenever trulyobjectionable, inRawls’sview(1999,219,366). Protectingpeopleagainsttheir own irrationality promotes individual integrity and self-governance (1999, 220–225).Toshowourrespectforeachothersometimesobligatesustohelpapersonavoidself-destructiveactions,heargues(1999,455).

However,Rawls’s ‘uncontroversial’accountofthegoodhasbeensubjecttomuchcontroversy.AdinaSchwartzrejectstheideaofmorallyneutralprimarygoods(1999,300).Manyindividualsdonotappreciateallthesegoods,sheargues,andillustratesherpoint


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withtheexampleofanindividualbelievingwealthtounderminecommunalvalues(1999,307). R.M. Hare denies the possibility of an objective view of the good. To say thatsomethingisgood,Hareargues,istosaysomethingaboutitsfunction(1957,106).Andsincehumanshavenofunctiontheyaremeanttoperform,wecannotunderstandahumanactionasgood(1957,109).ToHare,thegoodisgoodsimplybecauseitissought(1965,72).Hare’sviewthusrejectsRawls’sobjectiveunderstandingofagoodlifeasarationallife.Similarly, IsaiahBerlinargues that toemphasise the importanceofrationality is toimposeafalseideaofahumanpurposeuponpeople(1969,153–154).Hewarnsagainstanobjectiveconceptionofthegoodbecausehebelievesitenablespeopletoimposevaluesuponotherstheydonotnecessarilyappreciate(Berlin1969,133–134).Therecanbenoobjectivehierarchyofvalues,Berlinargues,becauseitwould‘falsifyourknowledgethatmenarefreeagents’(1969,170).Itisdegradingtotellpeoplethattheirendsinlifearelessimportantthansomeoneelse’s(Berlin1969,137).

But I see these criticismsofRawls’s thin theoryof the good as inaccurate. The

theoryisnotasconstrainingasthesecriticsbelieveitis.Weshouldrealisethattodeclarethe primary goods important to all human beings is not to deny individuals theopportunitytovaluethemdifferently.ThepersoninSchwartz’sexampleisfreetogivelesspriority to his wealth in his pursuit of other values. Rationality requires him only toconsidertheimpactsofhisdecisionsuponhisshareofprimarygoods.Andheneednotshowequalconcernforthesegoods.Ifadecisionislikelytoreducehisshareofaprimarygood,heshouldconsiderthisconsequencebeforeheacts.ThisconsiderationiswhatItake toberationaldeliberation. If,baseduponavailable information,a rationalpersonknowsthatheractionwillthreatenaprimarygood,shemustconsiderthisconsequencebeforesheacts.Ifshebelievesthatheractionwillpromoteoneprimarygood,sayself-respect, she may perform it even if it reduces her wealth. This trade-off mechanismenablestheindividualtoseekmoreofoneprimarygoodatthecostofanother.

Thismechanismiscentraltomyunderstandingofdrugconsumptionaspotentiallyrational.Itmaybeharmfultotheaddict’shealth,whileenhancinghersenseofself-respect.Rational deliberation and the ability to make one’s own decisions free from externalconstraintsisasourceofdignity.Rawls’sthintheoryofthegoodisnottheconstrainingmoralprescriptionthecriticsunderstandittobe,butratheraflexiblebasisuponwhicha


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responsibleanddignifyinglifecanbestructured.‘[S]elf-respectandasureconfidenceinthesenseofone’sownworth’,Rawlsargues,‘isperhapsthemostimportantprimarygood’(1999,348).WWeeaakknneessssooffWWiillllIn this section Iwill show that drug addiction does not prevent rational deliberation.Paternalisticactionisthereforenotpermissibleasameanstoprotectaddicts’rationality.Butwhetheritispermissibletointervenetoprotectpeoplefromirrationalself-harmisadifferentquestion,whichIwillconsiderinthenextsection.FirstIshallfocusupondrugs’effectupontheirusers’autonomy.Iwillrejectthecommonlyheldviewofaddictsaspeopleincapableofself-governance(Levy2006,429).RobertGoodin,however,defendsthisview,and understands addictions as ‘necessarily bad’ (1989, 100). Paternalism is thereforepermissibletohelpaddictsavoidabehaviourtheycannottrulydesire,heargues(1989,36).Butnolossofautonomyissolelyduetodrugconsumption.Unlesstheaddictbelievesin the drugs’ power to make his addictive behaviour compulsive, he will not becomehelplesstohisdesires.Thus,drugconsumptionitselfdoesnotimplyalossofliberty.Onthe Rawlsian account of paternalism, then, there is no reason to intervene in others’addictivebehaviour‘forthesakeofliberty’(1999,179).

Anautonomouspersongovernsherselfandpossessesthecapacitytoexpressherownwillandtruepreferences(Levy2006,429).Addictionisoftenseenasinconsistentwith autonomy because it involves strong desires for drugs believed to paralyse theaddict’scapacitytojudgeaccordingtoherownwill(Elster1999,170).Onthisaccount,addictsareincapableofformingtheirownconceptionofthegoodastheirobsessionwithdrugs paralyses their freewill. To consume the drugmay seem rational at the time ofconsumption.Butitisstillirrationalbecausethedrugmaymakethepersonpermanentlyincapable of revising her conception of the good and of pursuing a new life plan(Buchanan1975,398–399).Suchadecisionshouldnotbetreatedasvoluntaryconsent,Goodinargues, and compares it to thedecision to sell oneself into slavery (1989,28).Addictionthereforeseemsirrational.Toagreetoone’sownenslavementisclearlytoignorethe fact that one is likely to change one’s own conception of the good later in life(Buchanan1975,398–399).Itisafailuretotreatone’sopportunitiesastheprimarygoodtheyare(Rawls1999,54).Thisviewissupportedbythefactthataddictsthemselvesoften


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reportalossofself-control(Levy2013,2).AccordingtotheCentersforDiseaseControland Prevention, seven in ten American adult cigarette smokers want to quit but feelincapableofdoingso(CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention2015),andfourintenhavefailedintheirattemptstoquit.Theirdecisiontokeepconsumingthedrugisthereforecommonlyunderstoodascompulsive(Foddy&Savulescu2006,5).

Perhapsthemostobviousreasontorejectthecompulsionthesis isthefactthat

manyaddictsquit.Mostofusknowanex-smokeroranex-alcoholic.Andafrequently-usedexample to illustrate this point is the American servicemen who became addicted toheroininVietnam,butonly12percentofthemcontinuedtoconsumethedrugaftertheycame home (Goodin 1989, 25). But when Goodin understands the addictive drug toenslaveitsuser,hemeansthatitisverydifficult,butnotimpossible,toquit(Goodin1989,97–98).‘Theissueisnotwhetheritisliterallyimpossible’,heargues,‘butmerelywhetherit isunreasonably costly, for addicts to resist their compulsivedesires’ (1989,25).Thedecisiontoquitmaybeverydifficulttomakebecauseofthepainsofcravingsandacutewithdrawal(Elster1999,193).Decidingbetweencontinuedaddictionandquittingmaysimplyfeellikeachoicebetweendrugsandsuffering(Elster1999,193).Thestrongdesirefordrugstoputanendtothepaindonotgivetheaddictfalsebeliefs,butitcanshapehispriorities (Foddy & Savulescu 2010, 39). Cravings tend to ‘crowd out’ other activities,meaningthataddictsbecomeobsessedwiththeirdesireddrug(Elster1999,69).Addictshavedeveloped‘existentialdependence’whenvirtuallyalltheycareaboutiswhereandwhen the next dose will become available (Elster 1999, 198). Because cravings andwithdrawalmakequittingsodifficult,itmayseemlikeGoodinhasapointwhenhesaysthataddictivedrugsmakepeopleactcontrarytotheirtrueinterests(Goodin1990,192).

ThecrucialfactrefutingGoodin’sviewisthatadrugbecomesthemasterofitsuser

only if the user believes in her enslavement. Although the drug shapes the addict’spriorities,itisonlyoneofseveralvaluescapableofdoingso.Adrugmaycrowdoutothervaluesandbecomedominant,butthisisnoinevitableoutcomeoftakingit.Thefactthatmostdrugaddictsquitaroundagethirtyisagoodindicationofthispoint(Heyman2010,263).Thisisthetimeinmanypeople’sliveswhentheystartafamilyorgetameaningfuljob (Foddy & Savulesco 2006, 5). These are important values with the strength ofunderminingtheoncesopowerfuldesirefordrugs.Drugsmaybethedominantvalue,but


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onlybecausetheylackcompetitionfromothervalues.Thedesirefordrugscanalsobecrowdedout.Cravingsareusuallytriggeredbyassociationswithadesireddrug,andcanremain absent as long as these associations are avoidedor forgotten (Elster 1999, 2).Addictsalsodeliberatelyabstainforlongperiodstolowertheirtoleranceforthedruganddecreasethedoserequiredtoachievethedesiredhigh(Levy2006,17). It is truethatsomelacksuchself-control,andsimplycannotstopdespitetheirwilltellingthemtodoso. But as psychologist Gene Heyman points out, these people often suffer from anadditionalpsychiatricdisorderthatpreventsthemfromtakingcontroloftheiraddictions(2010,82–84).

Socialexpectationsmayaffectaddicts’beliefsinthepowerofdrugs.Insocietieswhereaddictioniswidelyregardedasalikelyconsequenceofdrugconsumption,therearemanymoreaddictsthaninsocietieswheresuchbeliefsarelesscommon(Elster1999,118).Forexample,atwenty-year-olddruguserintheUnitedStates in1990wasabouteighttimesmorelikelytobecomeaddictedthanatwenty-year-oldAmericandruguserin1960 (Heyman2010, 32). Between1960 and1990 thepublic viewof drug addictionchanged substantially (Heyman 2010, 32) This correlation suggests that addiction islargely causedby social beliefs, norms, andvalues influencing the addict’s convictions(Elster1999,205).Moregenerally, it suggests thataddiction is ‘cuedependent’ (Elster1999,66).Asmentionedabove,associationswithadesireddrugtriggeraddictivedesires(Elster 1999, 2). These associations are referred to as ‘cues’ (Elster 1999, 66). Theyprovokethedesireforadrug,perhapsmerelybytheaddictthinkingaboutit,andprimethebody toconsume thedesiredsubstance(Holton&Berridge2013,261).Becomingaware of these cues, and realising that one’s addiction is largely a result of externalimpulses,canhelpaddictsovercometheirstrongdesires(Heyman2010,97).

Butanaddict’sdesirefordrugsmaybemorethanjustanothervalue.Whenaperson

believesthatarewardhasbecomeavailable,dopamine,achemicalinthebrain,isreleased(Ross2013,42).Thisreactioncausesdesire(Ross2013,42).Somethingvital,likefood,cantriggerthisreaction,butitcanalsobecausedbyadrug(Levy2013,12).Sincemostofourdesiresarequiteeasytoignore,anddrugscausethesamereactioninthebrainasother‘rewards’,whydodrugaddictsfinditsodifficulttodisobeytheirdesiresfordrugs?BennettFoddyandJulianSavulescuseenodifferencebetweenheroinandsugar’simpact


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uponthedopaminesystem,andsuggestthatthecompulsiontoconsumetheformerisnomore real than the compulsion to consume the latter (2006, 10). They point out thatpeoplehavealsodeveloped‘seriousaddictionstohundredsof‘harmless’substances,fromcarrotstodrinkingwater’(2006,10).Butdrugs’impactuponthedopaminesystemisacontroversial issue.Heyman,forexample,understandsaddictivedrugssimplytohaveamorepowerfuleffectuponthedopaminesystemthanothersubstances(2010,142).AndNeilLevypointstothefactthatdrugs,unlikemostothersubstances,affectthedopaminesystemnotonlybefore,butalsoduringconsumption(2013,12). Inanycase,addictivedesires are not themselves powerful enough to take control over the addict (Holton&Berridge2013,240,261–262).Theyaffectthebrain’sdopaminesystem,butdonotmaketheiruserlosehisself-control.Addictivedesiresneednotleadtoaction.Drugaddiction‘isnotcompulsion,orcoercion’,Levyconcludes,‘itis,insomesense,volition’(2006,432).PPrreeffeerrrriinnggAAddddiiccttiioonnIntheprevioussectionIshowedthatdrugsalonedonotcostaddictstheirliberty.Butdrugaddictionmaythreatenotherprimarygoods.Drugsareoftenexpensive,andanaddictmaytherefore end up with financial problems. And perhaps most significantly, drugs mayseriouslyharmtheirusers’health.Toshowthattheconsumptionofaddictivedrugscanstillberational,Imustdemonstratehowitsbenefitsmayoutweighitscosts.Iwilldefendtheviewthatthepotentiallyharmfuleffectsofdrugsmaybeconsistentwithagoodandrationallife.Itmayberationaltoconsumeanaddictivedrugevenifitleadstoacostlyandharmful addiction. Asmentioned above, I believe Rawls allows for trade-offs betweenprimarygoods.Suchtrade-offsenableindividualstovaluetheprimarygoodsdifferently,andtopursuedifferentendsinlife.Forexample,theymayrisktheirhealthtogainlibertyorself-respect.IthereforebelieveGoodinismistakenwhenheseesaddictionasirrationalbecauseitjeopardisestheaddict’shealth(1989,99).

Drugaddictioncausesserioushealthproblems.Addictionisalargepublichealthproblem,andaddictscommonlydieyoungerthannon-addicts(Levy2013,2).Arationaldecisiontoconsumeaddictivedrugsmusttakethisfactintoaccount.AllenBuchanan,inhisdefenceofRawls’sthintheoryofthegoodasmorallyneutral,arguesthataconceptionof the goodmust remain revisable (1999, 398). Life plans change, andwhen theydo,peopleneedtheirprimarygoodsintacttopursuetheirnewends(Buchanan1975,398–


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399).Althoughindividualsvaluetheprimarygoodsdifferently,nooneshouldunderminethembecausetheyarelikelytobeusefullaterinlife(Buchanan1975,398–399).Sincewecannotpredictourfutureconceptionsofthegood,itisirrationaltodepleteanyprimarygoodbecauseitrestrictsouropportunitiestopursuedesiredlifeplans.Andwithfinancialand physical, and perhaps mental, capabilities reduced after years of regular drugconsumption,peoplemaystruggletopursuerevisedconceptionsofthegood.Thefactthataddictsareespeciallypronetoregrettheirdecisionssuggeststhatthisisarealproblem(Heyman2010,173).

Iwillneverthelessdefendthepossibilityofrationaladdictivebehaviour.Firstofall,

wemustkeepinmindthattheaddictisfreenottorepeathisaddictivebehaviour.Butarational personmust still consider the likely and unwanted consequences of reducedwealthandhealthbeforeheconsumeshisdesireddrug.Rationalitytoinvolvekeepingthefutureinmindwhenonemakesimportantdecisions(Elster1999,146).Butalthoughitisirrationaltomakeapotentiallyharmfulchoicewithoutconsultingone’sfutureself,itisrationaltomakesuchadecisionfollowingsincereconsiderationofbothshort-termandlong-termconsequences.Afterrationaldeliberation,apersonisrationalwhensheactsuponherconvictions.Suchactiongivesherasenseofself-respect,whichRawlsrepeatedlydescribesasprobablythemostimportantoftheprimarygoods(Rawls1999,348,386).Arationaldecisionmaynotproducethegoodconsequencestheagenthopesfor,butaslongasshefeelsresponsible for it,shemaystillgaindignityandasenseofself-worth(Rawls1999,370).

The pleasant effects of the drugmay outweigh the harmful ones. A smoker, forexample,islikelytoenjoythebenefitsofhisaddictionfordecadesbeforehemayhavetopayanysignificantcosts.Smokingmaythereforereflecthistrueinterests.Imaginethatheafter a lifetime of smoking develops lung cancer, presumably as a consequence of hisaddiction.Hemaystillthinkbacktowhenhesmokedhisfirstcigaretteandthinkthathewouldnothavechosendifferentlytoday,oratleastthatheatthetimehadnogoodreasontodoso.Goodin,however,believesalldecisionstosmokearebadbecausetheyreflectalack of concern for long-term interests (1989, 22), and Rawls argues that ‘we shouldarrangethingsattheearlierstagestopermitahappylifeatthelaterones’,andthat‘forthemostpartrisingexpectationsovertimearetobepreferred’(1999,369).IthinkRawlsis


10

righttosaythatthepresentself isresponsibletothefutureself,andthatwethereforeshouldconsiderlong-termconsequencesbeforewemakedecisions(1999,371).Buttoshowconcernforthefutureisnottoignorepresentinterests.Itrathermeansthatfutureinterests—not just present ones—should be taken into account in the rationaldeliberationprocess.Andhowtheseinterestsaffecttheoutcomeofthisprocessisuptotheindividualtodecide.Evidenceshowsthatdrugaddictstoagreaterextentthanothers,favour smaller, immediate rewards to larger, later ones (Heyman 2010, 158). As Elsterargues, ‘timepreference is justanotherpreference.…[S]omelikethepresent,whereasothershaveatasteforthefuture’(1999,146).Addictsmayvaluethepresenthigherthanthefuture,butthatdoesnotmakethemcarelessaboutthefuture.

Drugs’harmfulimpactsupontheirusers’healthmayberationallyconsideredless

significant than their positive effects. Goodin realises that drugs provide short-termbenefits,butseesrationalityinachoicetojeopardiseone’sownhealth(1989,100).Butwecannotsimplyassumethathealthproblemsnecessarilyaremoresignificantthanthepleasureofconsumingdrugs(Foddy&Savulescu2010,38).Valuingtheprimarygoodsunequallyenablestherationalpersontojeopardiseherhealthaslongsheconsidersthisconsequenceanacceptablecostofpursuingherdesiredends.Healthmustbeconsidered,butitneednotbethefactorthatultimatelytipsthedecisioninonedirectionortheother.TherationalpersonmustconsidertheinformationavailableandfollowwhatRawlscalls‘asubjectivelyrationalplan’(1999,366).Appliedtotheaddictioncase,Itakethistomeanthatbothbadandgoodeffectsofdrugconsumptionmustbeconsidered,and that thedecisionwhetherthehealthriskisworthtakingisultimatelyuptotheindividualtomake.Inthissense,rationalitydescribesthedeliberationprocessratherthanitsoutcome.

Itisalsoimportanttoemphasisethatadecisiontoconsumedrugsislikelytohave

nonegativeconsequences(Rawls1999,183–184).IntheUnitedStates,only5percentofusersofillicitdrugsbecomeaddicted(Heyman2010,30–31).Forherointheshareis20percent,butafour-in-fivechanceofnotgettingaddictedissubstantial(Heyman2010,31).Evenafirst-timeuserofahighlyaddictivesubstancelikeintravenouscocainehasatwo-in-threechanceofnotgettingaddicted(Elster1999,183).Andpeoplewhodogetaddicted,eventoheroin,oftenmanagetomaintainnormalandproductivelives,involvingajobandafamily(Foddy&Savulescu1999,616).Bymaintainingasourceofincome,drug


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addicts need not end up with financial problems. Also health problems are far frominevitable. A 2006 study showed that only 4.5 per cent of American heroin addictsexperienced‘worseningphysicalproblems’duetotheirdruguse(Foddy&Savluescu2010,38).Inotherwords,mostillicitdrugusersgetatasteoftheshort-termhedonicbenefitswithouthavingtopaythelong-termnon-hedoniccosts.Bytakingthisinformationintoaccount,rationaldeliberationmayallowfordrugconsumption.

It isaproblem,however, thatmanyaddicts invest little in informationabout the

drugstheyconsume(Elster1999,175,178).Takingcertaindrugscanruintheirlives,andthey do not act rationally if they fail to gather extensive medical information beforeexposingthemselvestothisrisk(Elster1999,185).Heavydrinkersrarelycheckonthestatusoftheirlivers,andsmokersdonothavetheirlungsexaminedasoftenasmedicalexpertsrecommend(Elster1999,179).AdefenderofRawls’sviewofthegoodandtherationalasinseparablecannotfindgoodnessindecisionsmadewithoutconsiderationofavailableinformation.Imustthereforeemphasiseherethatalthoughdrugaddictioncanberational,itcanalsobeirrational.OnaRawlsianaccount,conceptionsofthegoodbasedupondeliberationwithinadequateinformationmustbejudgedinferior(Arneson1990,449).Afailuretoshowconcernforone’sprimarygoodsisafailuretotakeoneselfseriously.Suchindifferencerevealsincapabilityorunwillingnesstogovernoneself.Rawlsadvocatespaternalismtodefendpeopleagainstsuchindifference(1999,219–220).

Rawls’s argument for paternalism seems reasonable, but it does not justify

coercion.Relevantinformationshouldbeaccessible,butindividualsshouldnotbeforcedtoconsiderit.PerhapsweshouldfollowJohnStuartMill,then,whoarguesforaformofpaternalism thatmakessure thatpeopleseeks to informpeoplebefore theyengage inharmfulactivities(Mill2006,109).‘[T]hebuyercannotnotwishtoknowthatthethinghepossesseshaspoisonousqualities’,Millwrites(2006,109).Withoutsuchinformation,adeliberationprocesscannotbeconsideredrational.IthinkMill’sviewisattractive,butweshouldkeepinmindthatsomepeopledonotwanttoberemindedoftheharmfulnessof their actions.Many drug addicts avoidmedical checks because they fear bad news(Elster1999,179).Badnewsmaydomoreharmthangood,especiallytothosewhoinanycasehavenointentionofgivinguptheiraddictions.Makinginformationaccessiblebutavoidable seems like a reasonable compromise between informing thosewhowant to


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know,ontheonehand,andnotremindingthosewhoknowbutprefernottobereminded,ontheother.Largewarningsoncigaretteboxesshouldnotbepermissible,butthesameinformationinsmaller,readablebutavoidable,printshould.Suchinterventiondoesnotguaranteethattheuninformedwillbeinformed.Butwecannotgoanyfurtherinimposingtheinformationupondruguserswithoutdisrespectingmanypeople’srationaldecisions.Thebadconsequencesarebadevenifthegoodonesaremoresignificant,andrationaldrugusersshouldnothavetoberemindedofthem.CCoonncclluussiioonnTreating drug addictswith dignity requires us to trust their ability to lead their livesaccording to their own conception of the good. But we should declare rationality anecessary basis for a good and dignifying life. Critics have pointed out that Rawls’sidentificationofprimarygoods,ofwhicheveryonewouldwantmoreratherthanless,isawayof imposinga controversialmoraldoctrineuponpeople.However, this criticism isbaseduponatoorigidunderstandingoftheprimarygoods.Ihavearguedthatalthoughthesegoodsareimportanttoeveryone,Rawlsdoesnotconstrainpeopletoonlypursueendsthatwillnotthreatenanyofthem.Peopleshouldbefreetopursueendsatthecostofoneprimarygoodaslongastheybelieveitwillincreasetheirshareofanotherprimarygood.ToRawls,experiencingthegoodrequiresself-government.Andonegovernsoneselfonlythroughrationaldeliberation,whichrequiresseriousconsiderationofconsequencesthatmayaffectone’sshareofprimarygoods.Addictionisirrationalandincompatiblewithagoodlifeiftheagentfailstoconsideritslikelyconsequences.However,adecisionmadeupon a thorough consideration of the likely consequences is rational and thereforecompatiblewithaconceptionofthegood.

Addictivedrugsdonotcostaddictstheirabilitytoconsidertheirownsituation.Many addicts feel incapable of governing themselves, but loss of autonomy is not aconsequenceofdruguseitself.Onlyifpeoplebelievethatthedrugshavethiseffectuponthemcanitbecomereal.Protectionofpeople’sautonomyisthereforenotavalidreasonforpreventingthemfromconsumingdrugs.However,interventionmaybepermissibletoinformpeopleaboutthebadconsequencesdrugsmayhaveupontheirusers’healthandwealth. But paternalistic action remains unacceptable if people are aware of theseconsequencesandconsiderthembeforetheyconsumetheirdesireddrug.Ultimately,this


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essaypresentsaviewofaddictivedrugconsumptionaspotentiallyrationalbehaviour.Itdefends a respectful treatment of drug addicts that allows them to pursue their ownconceptionsofthegood.RReeffeerreenncceessArneson,RichardJ.,‘PrimaryGoodsReconsidered’Noûs,Vol.24,no.3(1990)pp.429–454Berlin,Isaiah,‘TwoConceptsofLiberty’,In.FourEssaysonLiberty,Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1969Buchanan,AllenE.,‘RevisabilityandRationalChoice’,CanadianJournalofPhilosophy,Vol.5,no.3(1975)pp.395–408‘Centers forDisease Control andPrevention, ‘Cigarette Smoking in theUnited States’,2015,http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast_facts/index.htm#use.[Accessed9/11/2015]Dworkin,Gerald,‘Paternalism’,PhilosophyandPublicPolicy,Vol.56,no.1(1972)pp.64–84Elster,Jon.,StrongFeelings:Emotions,Addiction,andHumanBehavior,Cambridge,MA:TheMITPress,1999Foddy,BennettandJulianSavulescu,‘AddictionandAutonomy:CanAddictedPeopleConsenttothePrescriptionofTheirDrugofAddiction?’,Bioethics,Vol.20,no.1(2006)pp.1–15Foddy,BennettandJulianSavulescu,‘RelatingAddictiontoDisease,Disability,Autonomy,andtheGoodLife’,Philosophy,Psychiatry,&Psychology,Vol.17,no.1(2010)pp.35–42Goodin,RobertE.,‘LiberalismandtheBest-JudgePrinciple’,PoliticalStudies,Vol.38,no.2(1990)pp.181–195Goodin,RobertE,NoSmoking:TheEthicalIssues,Chicago,IL:ChicagoUniversityPress,1989Hare,R.M.,FreedomandReason,Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1965Hare,R.M.,‘Geach:GoodandEvil’,Analysis17,no.5(1957)pp.103–111Heyman,GeneM.,Addiction:ADisorderofChoice,Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversityPress,2010


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Holton,RichardandKentBerridge,‘AddictionBetweenCompulsionandChoice’,in.AddictionandSelf-Control:PerspectivesfromPhilosophy,Psychology,andNeuroscience,ed.NeilLevy,Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2013Kleiman,MarkA.R.,JonathanP.Caulkins,andAngelaHawken,DrugsandDrugPolicy:WhatEveryoneNeedstoKnow,NewYork,NY:OxfordUniversityPress,2011Levy,Neil,‘AddictionandSelf-Control’,in.AddictionandSelf-Control:PerspectivesfromPhilosophy,Psychology,andNeuroscience,ed.NeilLevy,Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2013Levy,Neil,‘Addiction,AutonomyandEgo-Depletion:AResponsetoBennettFoddyandJulianSavalescu’,Bioethics,Vol.20,no.1(2006)pp.16-20Levy,Neil,‘AutonomyandAddiction’,CanadianJournalofPhilosophy36,no.3(2006)pp.427–447Mill,JohnStuart,‘OnLiberty’,in.OnLibertyandTheSubjectionofWomen,ed.AlanRyan,London:PenguinClassics,2006Rawls,John,ATheoryofJustice,Cambridge,MA:BelknapPress,1999Ross,Don,‘ThePicoeconomicsofGamblingAddictionandSupportingNeuralMechanisms’,in.AddictionandSelf-Control:PerspectivesfromPhilosophy,Psychology,andNeuroscience,ed.NeillLevy,Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2013Schwartz,Adina,‘MoralNeutralityandPrimaryGoods’,Ethics,Vol.83,no.4(1973)pp.294–307Watson,Gary,‘ExcusingAddiction’,LawandPhilosophy,Vol.18(1999)pp.589–619

Corporate Financial Disclosure: The Importance of GAAP Mandated Earnings Amidst Declining Value-

Relevance ByTomH.Lillywhite

ABSTRACT: The predilection of management, analyst, and investor aliketowards non-GAAP earnings has queried the need for the regulation ofcorporate financial disclosure. Whilst non-GAAP earnings are increasinglyvalue relevant, the need for regulation centres on the consistency,accountability,and impartialityrequired for investordecision-making.Thispaper reviews the literature surrounding value relevance and corporatefinancial disclosure, ultimately concluding that the regulation of corporatefinancialdisclosureprovidesanimportantbenchmarkfornon-GAAPearningstobeweightedagainst.

Bradshaw and Sloan’s (2002) article titled ‘GAAP versus The Street: An EmpiricalAssessmentofTwoAlternativeDefinitionsofEarnings’hasbeenpivotalinrecognisingthegrowingassociationbetweennon-GAAPearnings andvalue relevance. Moreover,thesefindingsareconsistentwithresearchdocumentingthedecliningvaluerelevanceofGAAPearnings(Bradshaw&Sloan2002).AsAlbring,Caban-Garcia&Reck(2010)find,non-GAAP earnings, such as Street and pro forma, are more value relevant becausereported earnings are robust and adjustable for potential outliers. Observing thepredilectionofmanagement,analysts,andinvestorsaliketowardnon-GAAPearnings,astrongtheoreticalcasecanbemade fora freemarketapproachtocorporate financialdisclosure. However, it would be irresponsible to completely deregulate financialreporting,giventheriskofinformationasymmetrybetweenprincipalsandagents.GAAPstandards create a benchmark that all financial information releases are weightedagainst. No other reporting mechanism offers the same level of consistency,accountability, and impartiality required for investor decision-making (AASB 2015).Thisessaywillexploretheargumentsforafreemarketapproach,aswellasanalysingthebenefitsofregulatoryinterventionincorporatefinancialdisclosure.Thisessayfindsthatdespiteafreemarketapproachofferingsuperiorvaluerelevance,theexistenceofGAAPis required as a standards-based check to mitigate potential market failures and to


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protectvulnerableinvestors.AsGodfreyet.al.(2010)argue,however,‘optimalmarketregulationisanartratherthanascience’.

The chorus of management, analyst, and investor criticism levelled at GAAP

earningsiscentredonitsinabilitytocharacterisethetrueefficiencyofthefirm.Inherentproblemsincludetheincorporationofspecialcharges,inconsistentcapitalisationrules,andanambiguousconceptofothercomprehensiveincome(Ohlson2006). Non-GAAPearningstypicallydeviatefromGAAPearningsthroughtheomissionofchargessuchaswrite-downs,aswellasrestructuringcharges(Frederickson&Miller2004).Theresultistheremovaloftransitorycomponentsfromearnings,affordinggreaterinsightintothefirm’sfuturecashflows(Bradshaw&Sloan2002).Despitethevalue-relevanceofnon-GAAPearningsmeasurements,bodiessuchastheFinancialAccountingStandardsBoard(FASB) have outlined concerns that non-GAAP earnings are not consistent in theirpresentationand there remainsno consensus regarding the inclusionofperformancemeasuresinnon-regulatedfinancialstatements(Cornell&Landsman2003). Thishasled regulators such as former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ChiefAccountant Lynn Turner to suggest creators and distributors of non-GAAP financialstatements appear to be attempting to lead investors away from true net income (inCornell&Landsman2003).Thistrendmaysignaleffortsbymanagersandanalyststoattracthighervaluationsbyreportinghighernon-GAAPearningsnumbers(Bradshaw&Sloan2002). In accordance with the efficient market hypothesis, Malkiel (2003) argues thatefficientfinancialmarketsimpedetheabilityofinvestorstoearnabove-averagereturnswithout theacceptanceofabove-average risk. It isassumedall financial information,regardless of its composition, is considered, weighted, and reflected accordingly.However,wheremanagementholdsmoreinformationthanothersources,anddoesnotreleasesaidinformationtothemarket,informationasymmetryexists.Firmsareabletomitigate information asymmetry through the voluntary disclosure of information(Gasbarro,etal.2013).Therefore,management’sinterestinthedisclosedinformationislikelytorenderitbiased(Gasbarro,etal.2013).Moreover,therolesinvestorsplayincalculatingnon-GAAPearningsarenotgeneratedforthewelfareofinvestors,butwiththeirownself-servinginterest(LambertinBaik,etal.2008).Whendifferentaccounting

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techniquesareused toconveynear identicalnumbers,naïve investorsareunlikely tocorrectly compare accounting numbers (Briloff 1976 in Leftwich 1980). Therefore,‘governmentally enforced disclosure improves the ability of the capital market todiscriminatebetweenfirmsandtoallocatecapitalappropriately’(Watts&Zimmerman1986). Despite the superior value-relevance of non-GAAP earnings, the existence ofGAAP mandated earnings releases ensures investors of all competencies are able toaccessaccurateandconsistentnumberspertainingtothefirm.Further,thedeliveryofthesenumbersreducestheinformationasymmetrybetweenprincipalandagent.

Proponentsofanefficientmarketapproachtocorporatefinancialdisclosurepoint

toagencytheoryastheunregulatedrelationshipbetweentheprincipalandagent(Watts&Zimmerman1979).Accordingly,anybiasinreportingisnullifiedthroughtheagent’sinterestsbeingalignedwiththefirm(Watts&Zimmerman1979).ThisisevidencedbythevoluntaryreleaseoffinancialinformationbyfirmspriortotheinstallationofGAAPmandated requirements. Within an efficient market, sufficient information could begeneratedtoestablishasociallyidealequilibriumpointwherethecostofcollectinganddistributingtheinformationisequaltothebenefits(Godfrey,etal.2010).Ifthecostofdistributing information were zero, the ‘optimal allocation would call for unlimiteddistribution of the information without cost’ (Demsetz 1969). However, riskminimisationisnotattainableatzerocost,andfirmswillonlyproduceinformationthattransfers risk when the economic gain outweighs the expenditure (Demsetz 1969).Oppositely,inaregulatedenvironment,afree-riderproblemexistswherebythecostofprovidinginformationexceedsthemarginalbenefits(Godfrey,etal.2010).Thenonzerocosts involved toproduceGAAPmandated earnings are significantly greater than theequilibrium produced through the zero price mechanism. Despite the theoreticalreductionincompliancecostsandthealignmentofprincipal-agentinterests,regulatedfinancial reportingensures timeliness inhowvalue is recordedandhowpromptly,aswellasasymmetrictimeliness,wherebybadnewsisincorporatedrelativetogoodnews(Ball 2006). This serves to reduce managerial opportunism, as well as providinginvestorswithatimelyindicatorofthefirm’seconomicreality.

Critics of a free market approach to corporate financial disclosure are also

concerned with the fervent pronouncement of non-GAAP earnings by firms. The


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emphasisofnon-GAAPearningsinpressreleaseshasledsometoarguethatcompaniesare manipulating investors’ perceptions of the firm (Pitt 2001 in Elliott 2006).Subsequently, the SEC adopted Regulation G that mandated rules for non-GAAPinformation to be reconciled with relevant GAAP information (Elliott 2006). Thisresultedinadeclineofnon-GAAPearningsreleasesin2003,andtheprovisionofgreaterinformation to accompany non-GAAP earnings releases to better enable investors tomakedecisions(Marques2006).Recentcorporatefailuresandthemisuseofnon-GAAPearningsmotivated the legislationofSection401(b)of theSarbanes-Oxley (SOX)Act,devoted to the regulation of non-GAAP numbers (Kolev, Marquardt & McVay 2008).Heflin & Hsu further establish that SOX 401(b) produced a downwards trend in theenormityofGAAPandnon-GAAPearningsdifferencesaswellasamodestreductionintheprobabilitycompaniessignalearningsthatsatisfyorexceedforecasts(2008).Thetiming and emphasis of pro forma earnings also have a greater influence onnonprofessional investors’ judgements (Elliott 2006). However, this is offset by thereconciliation of GAAP and non-GAAP earnings, whereby nonprofessional investorsperceivegreaterreliabilityinthereports(Elliot2006).Tothisextent,itcanbearguedthat the intervention from regulators in earningsmeasurement has created a greatersafeguardagainstcorporatecollapsesthanafreemarketapproach.Similarly,arecentpublicationbyGasbarroet.al.(2013)hasfoundthatduringtimesofmarketvolatility,suchastheglobalfinancialcrisis,investorsareplacinggreatervaluerelevanceonGAAPearnings.ThisisfurtherevidenceoftheassurancesofbalanceandconsistencyprovidedbyGAAPearningscomparativetonon-GAAPearnings.

Recentliteraturehasfoundastrongrelationshipbetweennon-GAAPearningsandvalue relevance, as well as a sharp disassociation between GAAP earnings and userpreference.Inthewakeofthisresearch,astrongtheoreticalcasecanbemadeforthederegulation of corporate financial disclosure. However, the requirements for GAAPearnings serve to reduce the consequences of information asymmetry and to protectvulnerable investors. GAAPmandatedearningsprovideabenchmark forconsistency,accountability,andimpartiality,allowinguserstodeterminetheefficiencyofthefirm.Despite the compliance costs involved, financial information users are providedwithconsistentearningsmeasurementstoascertainefficiencybetweenfirms.Further,legalandprofessionalrequirementspursuedby theSEC for thereconciliationofGAAPand

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non-GAAPearnings,suchasSOX401(b)andRegulationGhaveimprovedthestandardoffinancialreporting,ensuringfirmsaretruthfulinsignallingtheirefficiencytoinvestors.

RReeffeerreenncceessAustralian Auditing Accounting Standards Board,‘About the AASB’, 2015,http://www.aasb.gov.au/About-the-AASB/For-students.aspx#qa1440 [Accessed:24/09/2015]Albring,S,Caban-Garcia,M,&Reck, ‘TheValueRelevanceofaNon-GAAPPerformanceMetrictotheCapitalMarkets’,ReviewofAccounting&Finance,vol.9,no.3,(2010)pp.264-284Baik, B, Farber, B, Petroni, K, ‘Analysts’ Incentives and Street Earnings, Journal ofAccountingResearch,vol.47,no.1,(2009)pp.45-69Ball, R, ‘Changes in Accounting Techniques and Stock Prices’, Journal of AccountingResearch,vol.10,no.1,(1972)pp.1-38Ball,R,‘InternationalFinancialReportingStandards(IFRS):ProsandConsforInvestors,‘AccountingandBusinessResearch,vol.36,no.1,(2006)pp.5-27Bradshaw,M& Sloan, G, ‘GAAP Versus the Street: AN Empirical Assessment of TwoAlternativeDefinitionsofEarnings’,JournalofAccountingResearch,vol.40,no.1,(2002)pp.41-66Cornell,B&Landsman,W,‘AccountingValuation:IsEarningsQualityanIssue?’,FinancialAnalystsJournal,vol.59,no.6,(2003)pp.20-28Demsetz,H,‘InformationandEfficiency:AnotherViewpoint’,JournalofLaw &Economics,vol.12,no.1,(1969)pp.1-22Elliott, B, ‘Are Investors Influenced by Pro Forma Emphasis and Reconciliations inEarningsAnnouncements?’,TheAccountingReview,vol.81,no.1,(2006)pp.113-133Frederickson,J&Miller,J,‘TheEffectsofProFormaEarningsDisclosureonAnalysts’andNonprofessional Investors’EquityValuation Judgements’,TheAccountingReview,vol.79,no.3,(2004)pp.667-686Gasbarro,D,Monroe,G,Schwebach,R,&Teh,ST,‘ComparativeValue-RelevanceofGAAP,IBES, S&P Core, Cash Earnings and Cash Flows, 2013, Available at SSRN:http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2195959 [Accessed:09/10/2015]Godfrey, J,Hodgson,A,Tarca,A,Hamilton, J&Holmes, S,AccountingTheory,7thEdn,WileyMilton,2010


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Heflin,F&Hsu,C,‘TheImpactoftheSEC’sRegulationofNon-GAAP Disclosures’,JournalofAccountingandEconomics,vol.46,no.2,(2008)pp.349-365Kolev, K, Marquardt, C & McVay, S, ‘SEC Scrutiny and the Evolution of Non-GAAPReporting’,TheAccountingReview,vol.83,no.1,(2008)pp.157-184Leftwich, R, ‘Market Failure Fallacies and Accounting Information’, The Journal ofAccountingandEconomics,vol.2,no.3,(1980)pp.193-211Malkiel, B, ‘The EfficientMarket Hypothesis and its Critics’, The Journal of EconomicPerspectives,vol.17,no.1,(2003)pp.59-82Marques,A,‘SECInterventionsandtheFrequencyandusefulnessofnon-GAAPFinancialMeasures’,ReviewofAccountingStudies,vol.11,no.4,(2006)pp.549-574Ohlson,J,‘APracticalModelofEarningsMeasurement’,TheAccountingReview,vol.81,no.1,(2006)pp.271-279Watts,R&Zimmerman,J,PositiveAccountingTheory,Prentice-Hall,1986Watts, R & Zimmerman, J, ‘The Demand for and Supply of Accounting Theories: TheMarketforExcuses’,TheAccountingReview,vol.54,no.2,(1979)pp.273-305

Interest Group Advocacy: An Analysis of Greenpeace Australia Pacific and the Minerals Council of Australia's

Advocacy Strategies ByBenedictMcCarthy

ABSTRACT:ThisarticleexaminestheadvocacystrategiesoftwoprominentinterestgroupsintheAustralianpoliticallandscape,onebeingahighlyactiveenvironmentalgroupandtheotheramininglobbygroup.Whilstoneenjoysahighpublicprofileandisclassifiedbymanyasanoutsidergroup,theotherisconsideredaninsiderbyvirtueofthewayinwhichitstrategisesinfluence.Itarguesthattheirchoiceofstrategyiswhatdictatestheirstatusaseffectiveinsiderandoutsidergroupsrespectively.

GreenpeaceAustraliaPacific(Greenpeace)andtheMineralsCouncilofAustralia(MCA)aretwohighlyactiveAustralianinterestgroups.Bothgroupshavebeencampaigningforsome time on the issue of whether coal mining should continue in Australia. Theseinterestgroupsemploydifferentstrategiestoinfluencegovernmentdecisionmakersonthisissue.Thisessaywillexaminetheiradvocacystrategieswithrespecttosocialmedia,activitiesinparliamentandtraditionalmedia.Theirchoiceofstrategyiswhatdictatestheirstatusesaseffectiveinsideroroutsidergroupsrespectively.Asan‘outsider’group,Greenpeace'sstrategyislargelycentredontheuseofsocialmediatoinfluencedecisionmakers. In contrast, theMCA focuses on using its ‘insider’ status to lobby politiciansdirectly, as canbe seen inparliamentaryproceedings.Bothgroupsalsoemploymoretraditionalformsofmediatosupplementthesemainadvocacystrategies. Beforeengaginginsubstantivematters,itisimportanttodefinethekeytermsandset out the scope of this essay.An interest group canbedefined as a collective, non-partisan, member-based organisation that aims to influence and shape public policy(Smith,etal.2012).Theclassificationofinterestgroupsaseither'insider'or'outsider'iswidelyusedinacademicliterature(Maloney,etal.1994).Thisanalyticclassificationisdeterminedbythepolicymakersthatinterestgroupsattempttoinfluenceandreflectstheirleveloflegitimacyamongstthesedecisionmakers(Maloney,etal.1994).Interestgroups that employ strategies that engage directly with decision makers in thedevelopmentofpublicpolicyareconsidered‘insider’groups(Halpin&McKinney2007).


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Whilst access to decisionmakers can sometimes be difficult to obtain, some interestgroups employ strategies that necessitate their exclusion from policy engagement(Halpin & McKinney 2007). Groups that are considered excluded, or have excludedthemselves,fromthisengagementaretermed‘outsider’groups(Maloney,etal.1994).Whilst theyhavea limitedability todirectly influencepolicybecauseof this,outsidergroups can successfully influence decision makers indirectly by running high profilecampaignsthatbuildpublicpressureonpolicymakers(Maloney,etal.1994).Baggott(1995) argues that groups can also be categorised as 'thresh-holder groups;’ that is,groupsthatoscillatebetweeninsiderandoutsiderstatus.Whilstinterestgroupsutilisevariousmediaaspartoftheiradvocacystrategy,thescopeofthisessayislimitedtosocialmedia,parliamentaryproceedingsandtraditional formsofmedia.Theseare themainmediaformsutilisedbyGreenpeaceandtheMCA. TheMCAandGreenpeacearebothinterestgroupsactiveontheissueofwhethercoalminingshouldcontinueinAustralia.TheMCAisnationallyrecognisedasthepeakinterestgroupofthemineralsindustryinAustralia(Deegan&Blomquist2006).Withamembershipcomprisinglargeminingcompanies,itaimstoengagewithkeygovernmentdecisionmakerstoprovidedirectinputintopublicpolicyagendas(MineralsCouncilofAustralia2015).Greenpeacedescribesitselfasanindependentcampaigningassociationthatengagesinnon-violentdirectactiontoexposeenvironmentalproblemsandto‘forcesolutions which are essential to a green and peaceful future’ (Greenpeace AustraliaPacific 2012). The remainder of this essay will discuss and evaluate the differentadvocacystrategiesusedbythesegroups.Thereasonbehindchoosingthesetwointerestgroupswithstrategieswasthattheyonfacevaluehadadvocacystrategiesthatwereclearexamples of insider and outsider groups. They are useful case studies of insider andoutsider groups because they are ideal typical insider and outsider groups. Themethodology used in this essay involved analysing the social media profiles of bothgroups,aswellashowoftentheywerementionedinmainstreamAustraliannewsmediaarticlesandtheAustralianParliament'sHansardinasetperiodof8months.Thestrengthof thisapproach is that it takesapurequantitativeapproachtomeasuringtheoutputstrategiesof eachgroup.Additionally, somequalitative researchwasundertakenas areferencepoint throughout this process to fleshout and corroborate thequantitativeresearch.Theinherentweaknessofthisapproachisthatbylookingataparticulartime

BenedictMcCarthy|InterestGroupAdvocacy

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period the trends might not be an accurate representation of other time periods.Nonetheless,itstillgivessomevaluableinsightsintothestrategiesofbothgroups.SSoocciiaallMMeeddiiaaGreenpeace'seffectivestrategyofextensivelyusingsocialmediainitscampaignagainstcoalmining shapes its status as anoutsider group.Maintaining ahighly activemediaprofileisapriorityformanymodernenvironmentalgroups;Greenpeaceisnoexceptiontothis(Maloney,etal.2004).Itssocialmediastrategycanbebrokendownintotwokeystages. Initially, it coordinates high profile public campaigns aimed at engaging itsmembersandotherstoputpressureondecisionsmakers.ItisclearacrossallthreesocialmediaplatformsthatGreenpeacecarefullymanagesitspresencetomaximisereachandachieve this goal. Once its campaign has sufficient traction, Greenpeace's aim is forgovernmentdecisionmakerstobeforcedtoimplementanti-coalreformorfearpoliticalrepercussionsfornotdoingso.AsMaloney,Jordan&McLaughlinemphasise(1994),thisstrategyisinaccordancewithGreenpeace'shistoricalstrategyofnotpubliclynegotiatingwithbusinessgroupsorgovernment.Itslargesupporterbasehelpsittospreadcampaigncontent, and so reaching this base is clearly imperative.1Greenpeace has focused ondevelopingthispresencefromanearlystage.ItsFacebookpresencedatesbackto2007,whereas the MCA's Facebook account was only made in 2012. To examine howGreenpeace uses social media to influence public opinion regarding coal mining, ananalysisoftheirFacebookactivityoveraone-monthperiodwasundertaken.Atallywastakenofthenumberofpostsmadeoverall,andthosespecificallyrelatedtocoalmining.ThesamewasdonefortheMCAforcomparison’ssake.TheresultsaredisplayedinTable1.Table1-Facebookactivityofbothgroupsbetween12/5/2015and12/4/2016NameofInterestGroup Greenpeace Australia

PacificMinerals Council ofAustralia

TotalnumberofFacebookposts 119 16

NumberofFacebookpostsmadeinrelationtoCoalMining

49 4

1FordatacomparingthefollowersofGreenpeaceandoftheMCA,seeTable2.


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ThisdatademonstrateshowattemptingtoachievehighpenetrationcampaignsisafundamentalpartofGreenpeace'sstrategy,ascomparedtoinsidergroupsliketheMCA.Insteadofengagingdirectlywithdecisionmakers,itworkstobuildpublicpressuretoinfluencegovernmentdecisionmakers.ThisexemplifieshowGreenpeace'sstatusasanoutsidergrouprequiresittoperpetuateitsadvocacystrategy.Greenpeaceclaimsthat,inresponse to this campaigning, late last year the Queensland government passedlegislationthatpreventscoalcompaniesfromdumpingdredgespoilontheGreatBarrierReef(GreenpeaceAustraliaPacific2015).Itisdifficulttodeterminethedegreetowhichthe campaign contributed to this outcome. However, given that the start date of thecampaignwasseveralmonthspriortothepassageofthelegislation,itislikelythatitdidcontribute to the political pressure on the government. It is because of this effectivestrategythatdecisionmakersconsiderGreenpeaceanoutsidergroup. ThemodestpresenceoftheMCAinmainstreamsocialmediaplatformscontrastssignificantlytothatofGreenpeace,suggestingthatmaintainingahighprofilepresenceisnotapriorityforthem.Asaninsidergroupthatpreferstolobbygovernmentdirectly,itismuchlessimportantthatthebroadercommunityisawareoftheircampaignmessages.Itisalsoarguablyintheirinteresttolobby‘behindcloseddoors’toavoidpublicity.Onecouldarguethattheyareabletoleveragedecisionmakersprivatelyandsocanaffordtoplaceemphasisontheirpublicactivities.ThiscomparisoninherentlydisplayshowtheMCA'sstrategyisaprivatelybasedonewhereasGreenpeace'sstrategyiscentredonthepublicdimension.ItsTwitteraccountisfairlyactive,sharingnewsarticlesthatdiscussthebenefitsofcoal.Interestingly,italsosharesstatisticsthatclaimthatrenewableenergysourceslikesolarandwindfarmscauseenvironmentaldamage.Whereitdoesrefertothebenefitsofcoal,alinkisprovidedtoawebsitethatissolelyfocusedonthepositiveaspectsof coal, and thishasnovisible linkorbranding to theMCA.This isperhapsastrategyby theMCA toput spacebetween itsownbrandand its coal campaigning. Itappears more willing to share stories written by well-known and politically alignednewspaperslikeTheAustralianthatdiscusstheeconomicbenefitsbroughtaboutbythecoal industry. Instead of using social media, as a successful insider group theMCA'sadvocacystrategyislargelycentredondirectcontactwithdecisionmakers.


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PPaarrlliiaammeennttTheMCA'shighlyactiveadvocacypresenceinFederalparliamentisafundamentalpartof itspowerful lobbying strategyasaneffective insidergroup.DecisionmakersmakenumerouspositivereferencestotheMCA.Exceptforoccasionalaccusationsofharmfullobbying, these government ministers often portray the MCA in a positive light. Forexample,duringdebateoftheproposedChinaFreeTradeAgreement,anumberofseniorgovernmentleadersquotedMCAdata,statisticsandevenoneexecutive'sopinion.Thesealloccurredduringdebateinbothhousesofparliament.ThisevidencesuggeststhattheMCAenjoysdirectandpersuasiveengagementwithgovernmentdecisionmakers.AndonecouldassumethattheMCAusesitscloseconnectionswiththesedecisionmakerstoadvocate forcoalmining. Italsodemonstrates that theMCA is regardedasan insidergroupbypolicymakers.Itisapparenthowthiscloserelationshipwithdecisionmakersmightbebeneficial fortheMCA. ItalsopointstohowtheMCAiseffective inusing itsinsiderstatus to influencedecisions.Whilst it isquitedifficult toprovideexamplesofwheretheMCAhassuccessfullylobbiedthefederalgovernment,evidenceofthiscanbefound elsewhere. In one senate debate, a Greens party senator accused a seniorgovernmentministerof‘buyingthespinofthemineralscouncil’inrelationtothebenefitsof coal mining (Commonwealth Senate Hansard 2015). It is significant there areaccusationswithinbothnewspaperarticlesandparliamentaryproceedingsthattheMCAholdssignificantpoweroverkeydecisionmakersingovernment.ItseemsconclusivethattheMCAdoeslobbykeygovernmentdecisionmakerseffectively.Greenpeaceisrarelymentioned in proceedings, as its outsider strategydoes not involve this. Both groupsmake occasional submissions to various parliamentary committees. Over a 9-monthperiod,MCAwasmentioned21times,usuallyinapositivecapacity,whilstGreenpeacewas mentioned on nine occasions. For both these groups, few of these mentionsoriginated from a representative from each organisation. This evidence indirectlysupportsthecontentionthattheMCAishighlyactivewithinparliamentandthusisaneffective insider group.This is in contrast to theGreenpeace strategy,which seeks toinfluencedecisionmakersmoreindirectly.WiththeexceptionofitsCEO'ssubmissionsatacommitteehearing,allotherreferencestoGreenpeaceportrayeditinanegativelightduring parliamentary proceedings. This ranged from government MPs criticisingGreenpeace'santi-coalcampaigningduringanelectiontoanMCAexecutivecomplaininghowGreenpeacemembersenjoyataxdeductiblemembershipfee.Perhapsyetanother


26

explanationofGreenpeace'snegativeappraisalwithinparliamentarycommitteesisthatitiscommonlyassociatedwithminorenvironmentalpartiesliketheGreens.Inseveralcommittee hearings, though, Greenpeace was singled out as an interest group thatencourages reckless and illegal activity. One could make the argument that thesestatementsareinretaliationtoGreenpeace'shighprofilecriticismsofthegovernmentinpublic forums. This is also presumably fuelled by the fact that Greenpeace does notengagedirectlywiththegovernmentonpublicpolicydevelopment.Hence,itperceivedbydecisionmakers as anoutsider group.TheMCA'sdirect contactwithkeydecisionmakersearnsitthelabelofaninsidergroup.However,inadditiontotheirmainforumsofinfluence,theMCAandGreenpeacebothalsorelytosomeextentontraditionalmediatoinfluencepolicymakers.TTrraaddiittiioonnaallMMeeddiiaaInadvocatingforandagainstcoalmining,thecampaignstrategiesofboththeMCAandGreenpeace is supplemented by the use of traditional forms of media, namelynewspapers and television advertisements. Despite its status, as part of its advocacystrategytheMCAusestraditionalformsofmediatopushbackagainstthepublicpressurecreatedbygroupslikeGreenpeace.ThisisreflectiveofGreenpeace's'protest'modelofadvocacy that generates media coverage, as opposed to the MCA which is simplyrepresentingan industry's interests. Itdoesthisbybothquestioningthe legitimacyofrivalgroupsanddisagreeingwiththeircampaigncontent.TheMCAisnotmentionedinasmanynews articles as is Greenpeace.However,where it ismentioned, theMCA isgenerallythemainfeatureofthearticle.AnexampleofthisisanarticlewritteninTheAustralianonJune1st2016,entitled'MinersgiveACFscorecardazero'(Maher2016).ThearticlefeaturednumerousquotesfromGregEvans,theMCA'sexecutivedirectorofcoal,rebuttingareportbyanenvironmentalgroupthatdetailedthepotentialnegativeeffectsofcoalmininginAustralia(Maher2016).Evansreferredtothepotentiallossofjobsandtaxrevenueasaresultofstoppingcoalmining,aswellasthematerialsrequiredtoconstructrenewableenergyinfrastructure. TheMCAisalsooccasionallysubjecttocriticisminnewspapers.InanoteworthyexampleTheSaturdayPaperprintedascathingcriticismoftheMCAandtheinfluenceitwields over the federal government (Seccombe 2015). The article included several


27

quotesfromtheCEOofGreenpeace,whowascriticaloftheMCA'slobbyinginthecoalsector. The author of the article also suggested that coal industry interests are over-represented on theMCA's board (Seccombe 2015). As evidenced by this this article,journalisticmessages can be difficult to control. As such, newspaper coverage can beharmfultowardstheMCAanditscampaigns.Thisislikelypartofthereasonwhyitisnotthecentrepieceoftheirstrategy. Toagreaterextent thannewspapers, televisionadvertisementsarea traditionalmedia platform that the MCA employs to exert influence. Whilst it currently onlyadvertises occasionally, it famously spent over21milliondollars on television ads tolobby against the Resource Super Profits Tax proposed in 2010 by the then-LaborGovernment(Orr&Gauja2014).Incollaborationwithothermininginterestgroups,theMCAwasverysuccessfulinthiscampaign,withthetaxallbutnullifiedwithinayearoftheadblitz(Nicoll2011).ThiscampaignprevailedovertelevisionadvertisingcampaignsrunbyboththeFederalgovernmentandbyacoalitionofenvironmentalinterestgroups(includingGreenpeace)andunionssupportingthetax(Vromen&Coleman2015).ThisisanotableexamplewheretheMCAsuccessfullyengagedinlargescale,outsidergroupcampaigning.OnecouldinferthattheMCAsawtheneedtodothisduetoaninabilitytoinfluencedecisionmakersthroughitsnormal‘insider’means.ThiswasarguablybecausetheFederalGovernmentatthetimewascommittedtoimplementingthetaxandso,bydenyingtheMCAinsideraccess,itpromptedthegrouptoadvocateinthepublicrealm.ThesuccessofthiscampaignpointstowardshoweffectivetheMCA'slobbyingcanbe,andisararepublicexampleofsuch. Whilst Greenpeace rarely engages in television advertisements as part of itsoutsidercampaignstrategy,itdoesutilisetraditionalnewsmediaforadvocacy.Asnotedabove,Greenpeacehaspreviouslyengagedintelevisionadvertisingcampaigns.However,thiswasincoalitionwithnumerousotherenvironmentalgroupsandunions.Apartfromthis, Greenpeace is notably present in news articles across various print media.Greenpeace is usually onlymentioned once in each article, but ismentioned inmorearticlesthantheMCA.Inthefour-monthperiodchosen,Greenpeacewasmentionedin20coal-related news stories, compared to the MCA, which was only mentioned in four


28

articles.2InthemajorityofGreenpeacecitations,thepublicationwasasmallerlocalorspecialisedpublicationratherthanamajornewspaper.ThefactthatmediaoutletsseektointerviewGreenpeacecouldmeanthat,despiteitsstatusasanoutsidergroup,itisalegitimate stakeholder. This is consistent with Greenpeace's identity as a massmembership, outsider interest group that utilises 'grassroots,' local campaigning.GreenpeacespokeswomanShaniTagerisquotedinmanyofthearticlesasarguingthatState and Federal governments must do more to stop coal mining developments inAustralia.ShefrequentlyemphasisesthenegativeenvironmentalimpactsthatcoalminesarehavingontheGreatBarrierReef,consistentwithGreenpeace'ssocialmediapostsonthis.ThesestatementsillustrateawidelyusedGreenpeacestrategytoputpressureondecisionmakers.Occasionally,amajornewspaperhasquotedTager,sometimesatgreatlength.AnexampleisTheSydneyMorningHeraldquotingherregardingthepurportedimpactthattheAdaniCarmichaelminecouldhaveontheGreatBarrierReef'.ArticleslikethesecouldexertpressureondecisionmakersatbothaStateandFederal levelwhilereassuringGreenpeacemembersthatthegroup’s leadersarefightingintheir interest.Similartotheirsocialmediapresence,Greenpeacealsousesquiteadversariallanguagein many of these statements. It omits to mention any positive steps taken by thesecompanies or indeed the government. Both Greenpeace and the MCA effectivelyincorporatetraditionalformsofmediaintotheiradvocacystrategyforandagainstcoalmining,mainlytosupplementtheirrespectivemajorformsoflobbying. TheadvocacystrategiesoftheMCAandGreenpeacearedivergent.ThisisapparentgiventhestatusoftheMCAasaninsider,asopposedtothestatusofGreenpeaceasanoutsider.Greenpeace'sstrategyforitscampaigntoendtocoalmininginAustraliacentresonanextensiveuseofsocialmedia,supplementedbysomecoverageintraditionalmediaplatforms.Similarly,theMCAalsoutilisestraditionalmediaformatsaspartofitsstrategy.Yetinsteadofsocialmedia,assuggestedbyitsstatusasaninsidergroup,itenjoysdirectinfluenceoverkeygovernmentdecisionmakers.Boththesegroupshavetheabilitytousethesestrategieseffectivelytoinfluencepublicpolicy.Thesefindingsarelimitedinthattheyonlyanalyse thestrategiesof twoparticular interestgroupsduringaperiodofa

2Itshouldbenotedthatforthisanalysis,whilstnewspapersarereferredtoastraditionalformsofmedia,researchwasconductedthroughtheonlineFactivasearchengine,whichsearchesthroughonlinenewsoutlets.Itislikelythoughthatmanyofthesearticlesdidgotoprint.


29

relativelyinactivepoliticalclimate.Obviouslyifthedatawastakenoveranelectionyearthenitislikelythatbothinterestgroupswouldhavebeensignificantlymoreactive.Thisinturnmayhaveseenachangeinthestrategiesofeithergroup.Astudythatlookedatamuchlargertimeperiod,perhapsevenincludinganelectionyear,wouldlikelyexpandonthefindingsinthisessay.Otherexamplesofinsiderandoutsidergroupswouldalsolikely prove useful, namely examining the strategies of many groups. However, thefindingsarestillvalidinsuggestingthatinsiderandoutsidergroupsarecharacterisedbythesestrategiesintryingtoinfluencepublicpolicy.Table2-SocialMedia‘followers’comparisonofGreenpeaceandtheMineralsCouncilofAustralia

InterestGroup MineralsCouncilof

AustraliaGreenpeaceAsiaPacific

NumberoffollowersonTwitter 3,500 39,000Numberof'likes'onFacebookaccount

13,000 249,500

NumberofviewsonYouTubeaccount

240,000 2,800,000

NumberofvideospostedonYouTubeaccount

22 249

RReeffeerreenncceessBaggott,R.,PressureGroupsToday,Manchester,UnitedKingdom:ManchesterUniversityPress,1995Deegan,C.,&Blomquist,C.,‘Stakeholderinfluenceoncorporatereporting:Anexplorationof the interaction between WWF-Australia and the Australian Minerals industry’,Accounting,OrganizationsandSociety,No.31,(2006)Greenpeace Australia Pacific, ‘About us: Greenpeace Australia Pacific’, 2012,http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/en/about/[Accessed02/06/2016]Halpin,D.,&McKinney,B., ‘TalkingaboutAustralianPressureGroups:AddingValuetotheInsider/OutsiderDistinctioninCombatingHomelessnessinWesternAustralia’,TheAustralianJournalofPublicAdministration,Vol.66,Issue.3,(2007)pp.342–352Maher, S., ‘Federal election 2016:Miners give ACF scorecard a zero’, The Australian,01/06/2016


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Maloney,G.,Halpin,D.,&Maloney,W.,‘DefiningInterests:DisambiguationandtheNeedforNewDistinctions?’TheBritishJournalofPolitics&InternationalRelations,Vol.6,No.2,(2004)pp.195–212Maloney, W., Jordan, G., & McLaughlin, A., ‘Interest Groups and Public Policy: TheInsider/OutsiderModelRevisited’.JournalofPublicPolicy,Vol.14,No.1,1994,pp.17–38Minerals Council of Australia, ‘About the MCA: Minerals Council of Australia’, 2016,http://www.minerals.org.au/aboutus[Accessed02/06/2016]Nicoll,A.,‘Australia'scarbon-taxdrama’,StrategicComments,Vol.17,No.7,(2011)pp.1–4Orr, G., & Gauja, A., ‘Third-Party Campaigning and Issue-Advertising in Australia’,AustralianJournalofPoliticsandHistory,Vol.60,No.1,(2014)pp.73–92Seccombe,M.,‘HowtheMineralsCouncilofAustraliahasgovt’searoncoal’,TheSaturdayPaper,24/10/2015Smith,R.,Vromen,A.,&Cook,I.,ContemporaryPoliticsinAustralia:Theories,PracticesandIssues,UnitedStatesofAmerica:CambridgeUniversityPress,2012Vromen, A., & Coleman, W., Online Campaigning Organizations and StorytellingStrategies,GetUp!,2015

Australian Strategic Policy in the Asian Century

ByNealReddan

ABSTRACT: Crafting Australia’s strategic policy involves difficult choicesbetweenimperfectoutcomes.ThoughAustraliaisanislandcontinentblessedwithformidablegeographicdefences,itisalsomaritimetradingnationwithsignificant interests and vulnerabilities extending far beyond its shores.Generallyspeaking,Australia’sapproachtosecurityfallsintotwotraditions:an‘expeditionary’ posture that commits national power to extra-regionalcontingencies such as those inAfghanistan and Iraq, and amore regionallyoriented‘fortressAustralia’traditionthatfocusesprimarilyontheAsia-Pacificsystemwe inhabit.BothapproachescontainstrengthsandhaveablyservedAustraliansecurityimperativesatdifferenttimesinthepast.Duringperiodsof national imperilment, such as the Second World War and a turbulentSoutheast Asia in the 1950s–1960s, Australian strategic policy fixated ondevelopments close afield. Today, emerging US−China strategic competitionheralds the return of great power politics in Asia and portends to regionalinstability. Accordingly, Australia can ill afford to diffuse its national poweracross multiple strategic systems over the globe. Against a backdrop ofrelativelydecliningWesternpowerinAsia,Australiamustoncemorereturntoa regionally focused strategic policy and eschew commitments toextra-regionalcontingencies.

ThroughoutAustralianhistory, twobroadschoolsofstrategic thoughthaveemergedonhow best to assure national security: an 'expeditionary' tradition advocatingextra-regionalmilitarydeploymentsaroundtheglobe,andamoreregionallyfocused'fortressAustralia' tradition (Smith 1997, 13). Australian political decision-makers face adilemmatictrade-offbetweenwhichstrategicapproachtoprioritiseinsearchofnationalsecurity. Understanding Australia’s shifting strategic environment is crucial to makinginformedandjudiciousdecisionsontheallocationofscarceresources.Despitegeographiclocation lowering the risk of a conventionalmilitary attack,Australia faces formidablesecuritythreatsclosetohome.Thispaperarguesforaregionallyfocusedstrategicpolicytocounteractrisinglocalsecuritycrisesandloomingregionalinstability,whichwillbethegreatest threats to Australian strategic interests over the coming decades. A relativedeclineinAustralianandAmericanstrategicweightwithintheAsia-Pacificsystemmeans


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thatthecurrentdiffusionofnationalpoweracrossdisparatestrategicsystemsisnolongeraviableoptiontoeffectivelyprotectAustralia’snationalsecurity.SSttrraatteeggiiccIInntteerreessttss&&OObbjjeeccttiivveessGeography confersAustralia considerable strategic advantages.As an island-nation thecountryisshieldedfromamajorland-basedattack.Armiescannotattackoverlandsotheymust transit oceans and seas to reach Australia. Maritime power projection presentssignificantadministrativeandtechnicalhurdles,inadditiontoanimmenseeconomiccost(Till2013,279).ThesebarrierstoentryexcludemostofAustralia’sregionalneighboursfromacquiringthetypesofmilitarycapabilitiesnecessarytolaunchanattackuponthemainland. Furthermore, Australia’s remote location at Asia’s edge has historicallyinsulatedthecountryfromarmedconflict.Australiaisnotanoverlandcorridorbetweenstrategic systems that foreignmilitaries traverse in their campaigns–unlikePolandorUkraineforexample.MoreoverAustraliaisnotafrontlinebufferstatebetweencompetinggreatpowers,likeNorthKoreaorAfghanistan.Occupations,proxywarsandotherformsofdestabilisinggreatpowercompetitionhavenevertakenplacedirectlyonAustraliansoil.

Notwithstandingtheseupsides,Australiaisnotanunassailablefortressanddoesface serious challenges and drawbacks. Australia has a vast continental interior,extensive coastlines and thousands of islands, a small number of which are locatedhundredsofkilometresfromthemainland.TheAustralianpopulationisthe51stlargestgloballyand15th in theAsia-Pacific(UnitedNations2015,13–17).Apopulationof24millionmustdefendthe6thlargeststateintheworldagainstpotentialadversarialstateswith populations exceeding hundreds of millions (C.I.A Factbook). Australia lackssufficientmanpowertoassemblelandforcesthatcouldreliablydefendthesepossessionsagainstattackfromworld’smorepopulousstates.

Strategic vulnerabilities also lie beyond Australia’s territorial boundaries. TheAustralianDefenceForce(ADF)mustcontrolordenysweepingairandseaapproachesacrossSoutheastAsiaandtheSouthPacific,operatingfrombasesinnorthernAustralia;an area sparsely populated and lacking significant infrastructure. The absence ofoverlandtradingroutes,asmallworkforceandlimiteddomesticmanufacturingoutputrendersAustralianlivingstandardshighlydependentuponseabornetrade.Agricultural

NealReddan|AustralianPolicyintheAsianCentury

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andminingproductsareexported toaffordaccess toenergy imports, finalgoodsandcapitalinvestment.Goodstransitsealinesofcommunication(SLOC)acrossthePacificand Indian Oceans, and through Southeast Asian chokepoints such as the Strait ofMalacca. Limited human and economic resources prevents Australia developingmaritimeforcestoindependentlydefendthesefar-reachingandhighlyexposedSLOCs.

The foregoing overview reveals that Australia’s primary strategic interests are indefending its territory and keeping its sea lines of communication open. These corestrategic interests inform three strategic objectives: a secure Australia; security in theimmediate Southeast Asian and South Pacific regions; and stability in thewiderAsia-Pacificsystem(Aus.Dep’tDef.2016,68).Thismayappearstraightforward,howeverasClausewitznoted,thesimplestthingsinwarareexceptionallydifficult(Clausewitz1976,119). As noted above, Australia’s sprawling geography and small demographic basedeterminesarelativeweaknessinlandpower,whichimpelsustowardsmaritimepower.Australia’snavalandairforcespossesssurveillanceandprecisionstrikecapabilitiesthatcan imposehigh costs sufficient todetermostwould-beadversaries.TheADFcannot,

Seaborne Freight: Key Australian SLOCs

Source: Department of Defence, 2016 Defence White Paper


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however,independentlydeteramajorconventionalattackornuclearattackfromagreatpowerstate.Therefore,Australiahasalwaysandcontinues toseek itssecurity throughallianceswithagreatandpowerfulfriend.EExxttrraa--RReeggiioonnaallOObbjjeeccttiivveessAustraliahasalwayssoughtagreatpoweralliancetoguaranteeitssecurity.Inpaymentforthe so-called security ‘insurance policy’, the Australian government has regularlycommittedtoextra-regionaldeploymentsinavarietyofconflicts–theSecondBoerWar,bothworldwars,andmorerecentlyinIraqandAfghanistan.Inadditiontothis‘alliancemanagement’aspect,expeditionarydeploymentshavealsosoughttoreducetheburdenuponAustralia’ssecurityguarantorandhelppreserveafavourableglobalbalanceofpower(Evans 2005, 29).Modern defence parlance euphemistically describes such balancingactions as ‘maintaining a rules-based global order’ (Aus. Dep’t Def. 2016, 76). Byentrenchingoursecurityguarantor’spower,throughextra-regionaldeploymentsafarfromhome,weenhancetheirabilitytodirectlyinterveneinourregionshouldcrisissurface.Withextra-regionaldeployments,Australiamay indirectlyobtainameasureofsecurityclosertohome.BritishstrategicwithdrawalduringtheSecondWorldWar(WWII),andagain in 1971, suggests this hypothesis requires continuous evaluation as regionalstrategiccircumstancesevolveovertime.

DeploymentsinIraqandAfghanistandidnotdirectlysupportthestrategicobjectivesoutlined in the 2013 and 2016 defencewhite papers. They did not secure Australianterritoryfrommajorconventionalattack,nordidtheyprotectSLOCsacrossSoutheastAsiaandtheSouthPacific,ordirectlycontributetothewiderstabilityoftheAsia-Pacific.Theprincipalgoalsofthesecampaigns–alliancemanagementandbalancingactions–weretoincentiviseAmericanstrategicengagementinAsiaandtoprovidewidersupporttotheUS-dominated global order. While these extra-regional goals might indirectly enhanceAustraliansecurity,itmustbeaskedwhetheraregionallyfocusedapproachwouldbemoreeffective.

Australia made niche contributions to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thisincluded offering greatly appreciated political support to the United States, but notoperationally significant amounts of forces. In Afghanistan Australian forces ‘relied on


35

enablingcapabilitiessuppliedbyAmericaorotherNATOforces(suchasbattlefieldairlift,airstrikeandindirectfiresupport)’(Davies,etal.2014,13).AttheoutsetoftheIraqWar,Australia contributed approximately 2,000 ADF personnel, two AP-3C Orionmaritimepatrolaircraft,threeC-130Herculestransportaircraft,fourteenF/A-18Hornetfightersand threewarships to the initial invasion (Aus.Dep’tDef. 2006).TheUnitedStatesbycomparison contributed almost 200,000 troops while the United Kingdom deployed45,000.

AmericanrelativestrengthinmaritimeandairpowerquicklycrushedconventionalmilitaryoppositioninIraqandAfghanistan.IncidentallyAustralianairpowercametotheforeonlyaftertheAmericanshadeffectivelydestroyedIraq’sairdefencesystem(Davies,etal.2014,16).TheUnitedStates’relativeweaknesswasinassemblingsufficient landforcestoprovidesecurityfortheoccupiedcountries.Counter-insurgencycampaignsalsorevealedtheacuteneedfornon-militarycapabilitiessuchashumanitarianaid,economicdevelopmentandcivilian-ledinstitutionalreconstruction.

Australia’s contribution did little to match America’s relative weaknesses in itsMiddleEasterncampaigns.Inordertoavoidmasscasualties,theAustraliangovernmentcommittedaproportionatelysmalllandforcecomponentandrestrictedADFoperationsto relatively low-risk areas within Iraq and Afghanistan. Australia’s commitment wasfocused on military support, with little provision of non-military resources such asreconstructionspecialists,humanitarianaid,civilianpoliceanddiplomats.Thisstandsinstarkcontrasttothewhole-of-governmentapproachindeployingextensivemilitaryandnon-militarycapabilitiestoregionalcontingenciesintheSolomonIslands,2003–2013,andEastTimor,1999–2000.

The main contribution to Iraq and Afghanistan was not military, it was politicalsupport.ThisenhancedAmerica’slegitimacybutdidnotpurchasesubstantiveleveragewithin the ANZUS alliance. If Australia withdrew at any point during the Iraq andAfghanistan wars, the US possessed sufficient resources to cover the exposed area ofoperations.Threateningtowithdrawcouldnotbeusedtoextractgreateralliancebenefits.AsPeterEdwardsobserves,fromtheKoreanWaronwardsAustraliawould‘talkagoodwar,butlimitthecommitment’(Edwards2015,10).Itisclearthatsuchlimitedcommitments


36

will not incentivise the United States to protect Australia above and beyond its ownstrategic interest in dominating the Asia-Pacific. The alliance management value ofsupportingextra-regionalcontingenciesisthereforepracticallynegligible.

Symbolic commitments to extra-regional contingencies have also had limitedstrategicimpactanddonelittletopreserveanAmerican-dominatedbalanceofpower–regionallyorglobally–thatcouldserveAustraliansecurityinterests.Thepresentsituationin Iraqattests to this.Since theCoalition’swithdrawal in2011,civilwarhaseffectivelyfracturedtheIraqistateintothreenations.TheresultingconflagrationacrossSyriaandIraqhascreatedanunstablepowervacuumandfuelledaregionalgeopoliticalcontest.IraqandSyrianowplayhostto intensestrategiccompetitionbetweenregionalpowerssuchasIran,TurkeyandSaudiArabia,andexternalpowersintheUnitedStatesandRussia.TheUSmayloseIraqentirelyshoulditbecomeanungovernablefailedstateorenterastrategic alliance with Iran and align against American interests in the Middle East.AmericamayalsoseeitschiefMiddleEasternpartner–SaudiArabia–weakenedintheemergingcoldwarbetweenitselfandIran.Itisfarfromcertainthisunstablegeopoliticalbattlegroundwillre-ordertoAmericanadvantage.Itisclear,however,thatAustralia’sextra-regionaldeploymentstotheMiddleEasthavehadtrivialeffectonenhancingAmericanregionalinfluence,letalonetheUnitedStates’positionintheglobalbalanceofpower.Itisdoubtful then that the United States’ ability to intervene in regional contingenciesthreateningAustraliasecurityhasbeenimproved.

Lastly another argument for supporting extra-regional contingencies is to fightterrorism at its source, in distant theatres, to prevent it spreading to our region. Theempiricalrecordofthepastapproximatefifteenyearshasraisedseriousdoubtsonthispolicy’sefficacy.Overadecadeofsupportingthe‘WaronTerror’hashadminimalimpacton eradicating terrorism from Iraq and Afghanistan, or in ameliorating transnationalterrorism.IfanythingthelevelofterroristactivityinIraqhasdramaticallyincreasedafterthe toppling of Saddam Hussein’s regime. Western Middle Eastern campaigns havedestabilised the region and created fertile breeding grounds and safe havens fortransnational terrorism organisations such as ISIS. This example demonstrates thetremendousdifficulty inextractingcounter-terrorism(CT)benefits fromadestabilisedregionconsumedbyintensegeopoliticalstrategiccompetition.Australiaissimplyunable


37

to field the capabilities and resources necessary to stabilise the region, which is anecessarypreconditionforeffectiveCToperations.Withoutregionalstability,CTeffortswill deliver only ephemeral benefits. On the other hand, regionally focusedcounter-terrorist initiatives have yielded exceptional results for Australia. Intelligence sharingbetweentheAustralianIntelligenceCommunity(AIC)andtheAustralianFederalPolice(AFP)withIndonesia’ssecurityapparatushasbrought‘yearsofvictory’and‘resoundingsuccess’againstJemaahIslamiyah,butitremainsanongoingchallenge(Cloyne2016).EEmmeerrggiinnggTTrreennddss––LLooccaallSSeeccuurriittyyCCoonncceerrnnssOngoingsecurityconcernsinAustralia’sneighbourhoodareamoreimmediatethreattoAustralia than extra-regional contingencies in far flung locales such as Iraq andAfghanistan.Across the SouthPacific and the southernedgeof SoutheastAsia lies anislandchainforminganaturaldefensivebarrierbetweenAustraliaandAsia.Anobviousmilitarystrategyforahostileadversarywouldbetogainamilitaryfootholdsomewherewithinthisislandchaintobeinapositiontolaunchstrikes,blockades,invasionsortootherwisecoerceAustralia.TheJapanesedidexactlythisinWWII(Evans2005,34,79).RegardingIndonesia–whichconstitutesthewesternandcentralportionsoftheislandchain–thisriskislowbecausethecountryisrelativelystableandhasalargelandforcetodefenditsterritory.Itisthemultitudeofsmall,impoverished,unstableislandnationsdottingtheeasternportionthatpresentthemajorrisk.

Fromtheearly1990sonwardsmanyofthesefragilestatesexperiencedincreasingpolitical instabilityand localisedsecuritycrises.DefenceexpertPaulDibbtermedthissecurityconcernthe‘ArcofInstability’andflaggedthelikelihoodofAustraliainterveninginmajorcontingenciescloseto itsdoorstep(1999,18).FijihasundergonefourcoupsoverthepasttwodecadesandperiodiccrisesthathaverequiredtheAustraliannavytodispatchwarshipsforpotentialevacuationofAustraliannationals.


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PapuaNewGuinea(PNG)–Australia’slargestpacificneighbour–isarguablythebiggest worry. Due to its relatively large population, compared to other fragileneighbours,ADFresourceswouldbeconsiderablystrainedinaprospectivedeployment.TheBougainville CivilWar, 1988–1998, destabilised PNG and almost culminated in amilitarycoupin1997.MaintainingPNG’sstabilityandmanagingtherisksstemmingfrom‘insecurity, weak governance and corruption’ remains an ongoing concern for theAustralian government (Aus. Dep’t Foreign Affairs 2015, 3). Australia providessignificantaid,$519.4millionin2013–14—PNG’slargestdonor,andservicedeliveryinavarietyofPNGpublicsectordomainsincludinggovernance,education,health,lawandjustice(Aus.Dep’tForeignAffairs2015,2).StabilisationcampaignsinEastTimor,1999–2000, and the Solomon Islands, 2003–2013, are other examples of serious challengesfacedbycountrieswithinthearc.In2007theseissuespromptedasoberingassessmentfromthenoppositionleaderandnowformerPrimeMinisterKevinRudd:

acrossEastTimor,PapuaNewGuinea(PNG),throughMelanesia…overthelast10 years, that concept [the Arc of Instability] has become a reality (ABCLateline2007).

The Arc of Instability

Source: Karl Claxton, Securing the South Pacific: Making the most of Australia’s renewed regional focus


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If Australia is to effectively ‘play a leadership role in our immediate neighbourhoodspanningPapuaNewGuinea,Timor-LesteandPacificIslandCountries’,thenresourcesforexpeditionary campaigns must be allocated preponderantly to regional contingencies(Aus.Dep’tDef.2016,33).EEmmeerrggiinnggTTrreennddss––RReeggiioonnaallPPoowweerrSShhiiffttFollowingtheSecondWorldWar,forapproximatelythreedecades,theAustralianeconomywas predominant within the Asia-Pacific. With the exception of Japan, Asia’s mostpopulousstateswere largelyagrarianeconomies.On topof this, the1950sand1960swereaturbulentperiodinSoutheastAsia.Decolonisation,warsofnationalliberationandcommunistinsurgenciesdestabilisedandimpoverishedmanyAsianstates.ItwasduringthisperiodthatAustraliandiplomaticcloutandmilitarypowerwithinAsiareacheditsapogee.Followingthispeak,Australia’srelativeeconomicpositionandmilitarycapabilityedgehasdeclinedandwillcontinuetodoso.

The past four decades has witnessed extraordinary stability and economicdevelopmentacrossAsia,especiallyinrisinggreatpowersChinaandIndia.AtpresenttheAustralian economy is ranked19th largest in theworld, and is projected to fall to 23rdlargest by 2030 and 28th by 2050 (PWC 2014, 3). Similarly, in the Asia-Pacific theAustralianeconomyis7thlargestbutisforecastedto9thplaceby2030and13thby2050(PWC 2014, 3). Meanwhile China, India and Indonesia – all of whom have alreadysurpassedAustralia–willcometooccupythreeofthefourlargesteconomiesintheworldby2050.Asignificantnumberof'middlepowers'includingThailand,Vietnam,MalaysiaandthePhilippinesarealsosettoovertakeAustralia.Althoughforecastingdecadesintothefuturedoesentailsignificantuncertainty,thelong-termregionaltrendsaresystemicandunlikelytocease.Inwhatistermedthe‘greatconvergence’,AsiaisindustrialisingandclosingtheproductivitygapwiththeWest(Grinin,etal.2015). Increases inAustraliandefencebudgetswillnotbeabletomatchsoaringmilitaryexpendituresacrossAsia,whichnoweclipsesEurope.

Rising Asian prosperity is underwriting widespread military modernisation,permittingvariousstatestoacquiremilitarycapabilitiespreviouslymonopolisedbyonlyahandfulofhighlydevelopedstates(Mapp2014,17).Basicpatrolvesselsandtraining


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aircraftarebeingreplacedbyadvancedsurfacevessels,submarinesandcombataircraft.Asuiteofsurveillanceplatformsandprecision-guidedweapons,colloquiallytermed'anti-access/area denial' (A2/AD), allows evenmodestmilitary powers the ability to inflictdeliverlethaldamageagainsthigh-endsurfacevesselsandaircraftoperatedbyAustraliaandtheUnitedStates.HughWhiteobservesthattechnologicalfactorshavefundamentallyaltered the balance in maritime warfare as finding and destroying ships has becomeincrediblyeasyandinexpensive(White2015).Conversely,theabilitytoprojectmaritimepowerandassertcommandoftheseashasbecomeincrediblydifficultandexpensive.

TheeconomicandmilitarytrendsholdmajorimplicationsforAustralia.First,wecannolongertakeforgrantedAustralia’stechnologicaledgeandcapabilitysuperiorityoverpotentialadversaries.Theincreasingmilitarycapabilitiesofourregionalneighboursincreases the risks and costs associatedwithdiffusingnationalpoweracrossmultiplestrategicsystems.Secondly,wecannotexpecttheUnitedStatestomaintainitspreviouslyunsurmountablemilitaryedgeoverarisingChinathatismodernisingitsmilitarywithpotentA2/ADsystems.TheUSwillnotbeabletomaintainuncontestedstrategicprimacybased on maritime power projecting assets such as land bases, aircraft carriers andcombat aircraft. These assets are increasingly vulnerable to Chinese precision strikecapabilities.ThesedevelopmentsdonotnecessarilyforetellAmerica’sdisplacementfromtheAsia-Pacific,butitiscertainthatmaintainingstrategicprimacywillnolongerbethelowcostpropositionithasbeeneversincePresidentNixonandHenryKissingerstruckagrandbargainwithChairmanMao in1972(White2012,14). In thatdeal theChineseacquiescedtoAmericanstrategicprimacyovertheAsia-Pacificinexchangeforintegrationintotheinternationalsystemandaccesstointernationalmarkets,technologyandcapital.This quid-pro-quo arrangement aligned Chinese land power and American maritimepoweragainsttheSovietUnion.

SincethentheSovietUnionhascollapsedandarisingChinaisseekingtorevisetheAsia-Pacificorder.TheUnitedStateshassofarstruggledtohaltChineseislandreclamationactivities,whichcontrastssharplytothe1996TaiwanStraitcrises,whereacarrierbattlegroupwassufficient to intimidate theChinese intobackingdown.With risingcosts inmaintaining strategic primacy in theAsia-Pacific, theUnited Stateswill demandmore


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fromitsregionalallies(OfficePressSec.2015).ItisimperativethatAustraliadoesallthatitcantolowerthosecostsandthuslowertheriskofAmericanstrategicwithdrawal.

Finally,AustraliacannotpresumethatAsia’srelativestabilityoverthepastfortyyearswillcontinue.EscalatingstrategicrivalrybetweenChinaandtheUSisalreadyareality.InrecentyearsChina’snewfoundstrategicweighthasemboldenedittobeginchallengingtheUS ledorder in theAsia-Pacific andprosecute its disputedmaritime claims in theSouthChinaSeaandEastChinaSea.Chinahasadoptedaso-called‘salami-slicestrategy’thataims to ‘sliceoffpartsof theEastAsianseas,bitbybit,until itsneighbourshaveentirelyaccepteditsnavalpowerandinfluence’(Yoon2015,46).Attheforefrontisamajorisland reclamation campaign that commenced inDecember2013.TheUSgovernmentestimates that China has reclaimed ‘17 timesmore land in 20months than the otherclaimants combined over the past 40 years’ (US Dep’t Def. 2015, 16). Many of theseartificialislandfeatureshavebeenmilitarisedwithbases,airstrips,surface-to-airmissileplatformsandlong-rangeradarsystems.

In reply theUS announced its strategic ‘rebalance’ and has begun responding toChina’s challenge with freedom of navigation operations. The rebalance illustratesAmerica’sexpectationsofitsAsia-Pacificalliesinthecomingcentury:greater‘spoke-to-spokelinkages[betweenitsbilateralallies]andalliedinteroperability’(Wainwright2016).ThisregionallyfocusedframeworkprovidesaguideforhowAustraliacanmaximiseitsstandingwithin theANZUS alliance, hedge the risk of our regional neighbour’s risingmilitarycapabilitiesandmanageloomingregionalinstability.CCoonncclluussiioonnTheemergenceoftheArcofInstabilityandchangesintheAsia-Pacific’sbalanceofpowerhave increased security threats emanating fromAustralia’s immediate region. The lasttimeAustraliafacedsuchathreat–duringthe1950sand1960s–itadoptedtheregionallyfocusedforwarddefencepolicy.IntheSecondWorldWar,Australiabroughtitstroopshometo fight in thePacificCampaign. Supportingextra-regional contingencies isonlyviableduring times of relative stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Prevailing strategic trendsmeansthatAustraliamustundertake itsown ‘rebalance’andregionallyconcentrate itselementsofnationalpowertoassureitsnationalsecurity.


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RReeffeerreenncceessABC Lateline, ‘Rudd Urges Foreign Policy Rethink to Counter Instability’, 2007,http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2007/s1970130.htm[Accessed01/04/2016]AustralianDepartmentofDefence,2016DefenceWhitePaper,Canberra:CommonwealthofAustralia,2016AustralianDepartmentofDefence,2013DefenceWhitePaper,Canberra:CommonwealthofAustralia,2013AustralianDepartmentofDefence,TheWarinIraq:ADFOperationsintheMiddleEastin2003,Canberra:CommonwealthofAustralia,2006AustralianDepartmentofForeignAffairsandTrade,AidPerformanceReport2013–14:PapuaNewGuinea,Canberra,2015https://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/Documents/png-appr-2013-14.pdf[Accessed01/04/2016]Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook. Continually updatedhttps://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ [Accessed01/04/2016]Clausewitz, Carl von, OnWar, Trans. & Ed. Howard,M. and Paret, P., Princeton, NewJersey:PrincetonUniversityPress,1976Claxton,Karl,SecuringtheSouthPacific:MakingthemostofAustralia’srenewedregionalfocus,Barton:AustralianStrategicPolicyInstitute(ASPI),2013Cloyne, John. ‘The Jakarta blasts and Indonesia-Australia CT cooperation’, AustralianStrategicPolicyInstitute(ASPI),2016http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-jakarta-blasts-and-indonesia-australia-ct-cooperation/[Accessed31/03/2016]Davies, Andrew, Jennings, Peter, Nichola, Daniel, and Schreer, Benjamin, ExpandingAlliance: ANZUS Cooperation and Asia-Pacific Security, Barton: Australian StrategicPolicyInstitute(ASPI),2014Dibb,Paul,Hale,DavidH, andPince,Peter, ‘Asia’s Insecurity’, Survival,Vol. 41,No.3,(1999),pp.5–20Dupont,Alan,Australia’sThreatPerceptions:ASearchforSecurity,Canberra:AustralianNationalUniversity,1991


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Edwards,Peter,Learningfromhistory:somestrategiclessonsfromthe‘forwarddefence’era,Barton:AustralianStrategicPolicyInstitute,2015Evans,Michael,TheTyrannyofDissonance:Australia’sStrategicCultureandWayofWar1901-2005,Duntroon:LandWarfareStudiesCentre,2005Grinin, Leonid, and Korotayev, Andrey, Great Divergence and Great Convergence: AGlobalPerspective,NewYork:SpringerInternationalPublishing,2015Mapp, Wayne, Military Modernisation and Buildup in the Asia Pacific: The Case forRestraint,Singapore:S.RajaratnamSchoolofInternationalStudies,2014Office of the Press Secretary, ‘FACT SHEET:Advancing theRebalance toAsia and thePacific’,TheWhiteHouse,2015,https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/11/16/fact-sheet-advancing-rebalance-asia-and-pacific[Accessed01/04/2016]Pham,P.L.,Ending ‘EastofSuez’:TheBritishDecisiontoWithdrawfromMalaysiaandSingapore1964–1968(OxfordHistoricalMonographs),OxfordUniversityPress,2010Phelan,Mark.,DavidVinen,DalePotterandCopeland,Paul,AustralianDefenceForceandPoliceInvolvementinPeacekeepingandPeacemakingOperations1947–Today,2015,http://www.peacekeepers.asn.au/operations.htm[Accessed25/03/2016]PricewaterhouseCoopers(PwC), ‘TheWorld in2050:Will theshift inglobaleconomicpowercontinue?’,2015,https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/the-economy/assets/world-in-2050-february-2015.pdf[Accessed26/03/2016]Smith, Hugh, ‘Politics of foreign policy’, Australian Foreign Policy: Into the NewMillennium,Ed.Mediansky,F.A.,Melbourne:Macmillan,1997,pp.13–32Tewes,Alex.,LauraRayner,andKellyKavanaugh,Australia’sMaritimeStrategy in the21st century, Australian Parliamentary Library, 2004,http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/library/prspub/3L7F6/upload_binary/3l7f66.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf#search=%22library/prspub/3L7F6%22[Accessed24/04/2016]Till,Geoffrey,Seapower:AGuidefortheTwenty-FirstCentury,LondonandNewYork:Routledge,2013


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UnitedNationsDepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs.PopulationDivision,WorldPopulation Prospects: The 2015 Revision, Key Findings and Advance Tables,ESA/P/WP.241.NewYork,2015UnitedStatesofAmerica.DepartmentofDefense.Asia-PacificMaritimeSecurityStrategy.WashingtonDC,2015Wainwright, Elsina. ‘ANZUS and the US Asian alliance network’ in Australia StrategicPolicyInstitute(ASPI),2016http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/anzus-and-the-us-asian-alliance-network/ [Accessed01/04/2016]White,Hugh,‘FourDecadesoftheDefenceofAustralia:ReflectionsonAustralianDefencePolicyoverthePast40Years’,inHistoryasPolicy:FramingtheDebateontheFutureofAustralia’s Defence Policy, Ed. by Huisken, Ron and Thatcher, Meredith, Canberra:AustralianNationalUniversity,2007White,Hugh,TheChinaChoice:WhyAmericaShouldSharePower,Collingwood:BlackInc.,2012White,Hugh,‘TheMaritimeBalanceinAsiaintheAsiaCentury’inTheChangingMaritimeScene in Asia: Rising Tensions and Future Strategic Stability, Basingstoke: PalgraveMacmillan,2015Yoon, Sukjoon, ‘Implications of Xi Jinping’s ‘True Maritime Power’ – Its Context,Significant,andImpactontheRegion’,NavalWarCollegeReview,Vol.68,No.3(2015)pp.40–63

Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Relationship Between Nature and the Self

ByIngridMao

ABSTRACT: In his essays Nature (1836) and Self-Reliance (1841), RalphWaldo Emerson phenomenally illuminates nineteenth centuryTranscendentalist philosophy through his divulgence of the occultrelationship between Nature and the Self. In particular, the symbioticcollaboration between humankind and our natural world reveals physicalobjectsasthetheearthlyconduitforspiritualtruths.Yet,suchcorporealityisonly elevated insofar as it is realised independently by the imaginative,spiritual, and intellectual capabilities of the human Self — namely, thearticulation of Truth through the vivid poetry of Language as well as thedisplayofVirtuebyallmenandwomen.Shouldtranslationsdifferfromonetotheother,individualsshouldeachbeallowedtheirownauthenticTruth—or, in Emerson’s words, ‘an original relation to the universe’. Indeed, theprescriptive lens with which society fashions humanity distorts ourperceptionofreality,leavingusfetteredtothetethersofSocialConstitutionandtherebyreliantuponinstitutionstoforgeandmediateaconnectionwithsomething to which we are so intrinsically connected. It is only whenrecogniseourownconstitutionin—andseekcommunionwith—NaturecanwepartakeinacatharsisthatpurgestheSoulofdrossandthusbringsusbackto a pure state of being, akin to that of the child, which precedes thecontaminationofourconsciousnessbyage,experience,andsociety

InhismeditationontheimmanenceoftheDivinewithinNature,RalphWaldoEmersoncritically divulges the occult relationship between the human Soul and the Cosmos,NatureandtheSelf.WithreferencestoEmerson’stwoessaysSelf-Reliance(1841)andNature (1836), this paper shall seek to explore the symbiotic collaboration betweenhuman beings and our naturalworld; in particular, the uses of Nature – Commodity,Beauty,Language,andDiscipline–initsministrytohumankind,aswellasthenecessaryreciprocationofsuchprovidencebyallmenandwomenviadisplaysofVirtue.InlightofEmerson’sexpositionofhumanity’sperceptionofNatureinhislatteressay,Ishallpositthatthephenomenalworldobservedbythehumaneyeservesastheearthlyconduitforspiritual truthsandametonymforTranscendentalistphilosophy.Withregardstoourunderstanding of the nature of Nature, let it be established that She embodies, inEmerson’swords,allthe‘essencesunchangedbyman’(1836,6).Assuch,Naturecanbe


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viewedasa frameofreferencethatdisclosestheextenttowhichhumankinddeviatesfromthe ‘AboriginalSelf’ (1841),anuntaintedstateofbeingthat isreneweduponanindividual’scommunionwithNature.ItiswhenSheisutilisedtoeffectsecondarydesires– such as that of power,materialwealth, and debauchery – thatwe cease to enjoy aprimary relationship with the Universe, and, consequently, develop a reliance uponinstitutions to forge and mediate a connection with something to which we are sointrinsically connected. Only when we unchain our Self from the tethers of SocialConstitutionscanwerecogniseourownconstitutioninNature,andthusrealisetheSelf-ReliantUniversalBeingthatreconcilesourinnerandoutersenses–sotoo,thesubstanceandessenceofourSpirit.

In its lowest functions– that is,accordingtoEmerson,CommodityandBeauty–Natureisrenderedasacatharticspectacle,thereceptionofwhichrevitalisesandrestoreshealthtotheobserver.Indeed,inChapterIIIofNature(1836),Emersonwrites,

The health of the eye seems to demand a horizon.... I seem to partake[Nature’s] rapid transformations: the active enchantment reachesmydust,andIdilateandconspirewiththemorningwind.HowdoesNaturedeifyuswithafewandcheapelements!Givemehealthandaday,andIwillmakethepompofemperorsridiculous.ThedawnismyAssyria;thesun-setandmoon-risemyPaphos,andunimaginablerealmsoffaerie;broadnoonshallbemyEnglandofthesensesandtheunderstanding;thenightshallbemyGermanyofmysticphilosophyanddreams.

Emerson’saccountofhisreverenceforNatureinthispassageencompasseslandscapesthat exist across time and space. His disregard for temporal and spatial limitations,moreover, evinces the eternal verity ofNature as a spiritual constant, integrating thedifferent realms of human experience – such as the physical, astral, phenomenal,intellectual,andmystical–todescrytheUnitythatpervadesallbeings.Ofthiswholeness,Emersonproceeds to express theomnipresenceof itsparts through theanalogyof ‘asphere, comprising all possible circles...[with] innumerable sides’ (1841, 44). Thepresence of such analogies, metaphors, and metonyms are persistent throughoutEmerson’soeuvre, thesignificanceofwhich Iwillelaborateupon further in the lattersectionofthispaper.

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Furthermore,theinfluencewhichNaturehasuponthemetamorphicprocessesoftheSoulisstronglyevidentasEmersoneffusesthemeldingofmanintohislandscape,declaringthathewishesto ‘partake[Nature’s]rapidtransformations’andrecognisingthe interconnectednessresultingfromthe ‘activeenchantment’ofhisphysicalbeing–‘my dust’ – with the metaphysical elements. The speaker seems to ‘dilate’ with theelements,allowingauniversalcurrenttoflowinandoutofhim,breathinglifeintothatwhichsurroundshimastheyintohim.Indeed,Emersonwrites,‘Nothingdivinedies.Allgoodiseternallyreproductive’,referringtotheeternalqualityofTruth,itstransmissionbetweenearthlyvessels,andthenotionoflifeasitsowncreativeend.WhentheSelfis,inEmerson’s words, ‘in alliance with truth and God’, it is able to receive Nature like a‘transparenteyeball’(1836,10)thatdoesnotdeflect,butratherembraces,thelightofTruthwhichshinesintotheheartofhumanity.Infact,theSelfbecomestheeyeball—ametaphor which upbraids the conditioned lenses that filter humankind’s immediateconnectionwithGodandsubsequentlydistorttheirperceptionsofreality.Inmanyways,those who view the world through such lenses of perception tend to allocate theirinabilitytorecognisetheiroccultrelationwithDivinitytothebasenessofphysicalandmaterialobjects.However, isEmersonmerelydenouncingthematerialworld,orishepostulatingthattheintangibleelementsoftheSoulareindeedmanifestedonthematerialplaneofrealitythroughtangibleobjects?Shouldwe,then,rejecttheircorporeality?OrshouldweobservethemasthesymbolsandreflectionsoftheGodthatisatoncewithinandbeyondourownSelf?

In his work Nature's Economy (1994), Donald Worster identifies theTranscendentalidealismofEmersonasonewhichtendsto‘devaluethematerialworldexceptinsofarasitcouldbeputtohigherspiritualusesbythehumanmind’.Accordingly,inhisexpositionontheusesofNatureinLanguageandDiscipline,Emersonproposesthefollowing:

1. Wordsaresignsofnaturalfacts. 2. Particularnaturalfactsaresymbolsofparticularspiritualfacts. 3. Natureisthesymbolofspirit.


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Indeed,observingNaturemerelyforitsphysicalbeautyfallssomewhatshortofthescopeofthelessonshumankindcantakefromoursurroundinglandscape.Ashetracesbacktothegenesisoflanguageandtheoriginofeachwordinvividpoetry,thereaderbecomesawareoftheideaoflanguageasarhetoricalmediumformaterialobjects,which,inturn,serveasmetonymicextensionsofspiritualfacts.TheexampleswhichEmersonprovidestoexplainthisempiricismincludethelinguisticnormalitiesof‘straight’meaning‘right’,‘twisted’meaning‘wrong’,the‘wind’representing‘spirit’,and‘theraisingofaneyebrow’todenotesuperciliousness.He,moreover,praisesthe‘piquancy’(1836,29)ofalanguagesustainedbyNature, inadditiontothe ‘radicalcorrespondencebetweenvisiblethingsandhumanthoughts’,therebysupportingWorster’spositionthattheintegrityofmaterialexistenceiselevatedinsofarasitappealstoandengageswiththeintellect.ThisviewisfurtherespousedbyMarissaLopezwhocommentsinheressayTheSentimentalPoliticsof Language (2011) that it is indeed ‘the imaginative power of the individual humanbeing’thatespiesthesubliminalqualitiesinNatureandtranslatesthemintoGod’swill.Yet, this, I do not believe, affirm those readings – such as thatwhich is held by KrisFresonke–thattraceEmerson’sviewonatropicalNaturetothetheologicalargumentfordesignandNatureastheempiricalevidenceforaCreator.

TheaspectsofdesignmayhavebeenalludedtobyEmersontoexplainthedestinyofAmericaasthechosenlandandapromisingnewnation.However, IshallholdthatsupernaturalqualitiesofNature,thatwhichostensiblysupporttheexistenceofGod,areonly present insofar as it is realised independently by the imaginative, spiritual, andintellectualcapabilitiesofthehumanSelf.Thismayportendaconflictbetweensubjectivetranslations of what is perhaps characterised as an objective external world; butindividuals can only confirm for themselves what appears before their eyes. Shouldobservations differ from one to another, the individual should be allowed their ownauthenticTruth—‘anoriginalrelationtotheuniverse’(1836,1).Indeed,referencestoyouththroughoutEmerson’swritingsuggestthatthepresenceofthechildcanbeseenasthephysicalmanifestationofthepureststateofhumanity,priortothecontaminationofourconsciousnessbyage,experience,andsociety.Thechildlivesinthepresentandpaysnoattentiontothetraditionswhichadultsaroundhimreligiouslypreach.Heisinmanyways like the timeless Rose delineated in Self-Reliance; that is, a symbol of eternalperfectionwhich‘makenoreferencetoformerrosesortobetterones;theyareforwhat

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theyare;theyexistwithGodto-day.Thereisnotimetothem.Thereissimplytherose;itisperfectineverymomentofitsexistence’.Here,thechild,therose,andNaturearesaidtotranscendalltraditionalandforeignforcesthatexist intimeandspace.Indeed,thehuman mind itself is infinite, limited only by the reigns imposed by society, whoseprincipleinstrumentofoppressionisconformity.Thus,throughtheimageoftherose,Emersonpresentshisreaderswithablueprintfortheself-sufficingandself-reliantsoul,onethatiscapableofrenovatingamendicantsocietyof ‘parloussoldiers’(1841,161)andrestoringthecreativepowersthatfosterprogressinanewlandofpromises.

RalphWaldoEmerson’siconoclasticmannerofadmonishingthedominanceofthewords,traditions,andperceptionsofancestorsactsasapowerfulvehiclebywhichheawakensintuitionastheguidingwisdominlife.Suchrealisations,arguesEmerson,are,furthermore, realised through one’s observation of Nature and the imagination ofphysicalobjectsastheearthlyconduitforspiritualTruthonthematerialplaneofhumanreality.Inone’scommunionwithNature,theobserverandtheobservedmeldintoone,revealingallobjectstobethemodificationsofoneverity, justaseachhumanbeing is‘partorparticleofGod’(1836,10).Therefore,throughhisexpositionontherelationshipoftheSelftoNature,Emerson—aboveallelse—bringstolighttheTruththatitistheamalgamationofmindandmatter,sotooNatureandtheSelf,andnotitsseparation,thatprovidesthebasisforwonderinhumanexistence.RReeffeerreenncceessEmerson,RalphW.‘Nature’,1836Emerson,RalphW.‘Self-Reliance’,1841Fresonke,Kris.,WestofEmerson:TheDesignofManifestDestiny,Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,2003López,Marissa,‘TheSentimentalpoliticsoflanguage:RalphWaldoEmerson'sandJoséMaríaSánchez'sTexasstories’,WesternAmericanLiterature,Vol.45,No.4(2011)Worster,Donald,Nature'sEconomy:AHistoryofEcologicalIdeas,Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,1994

Changing Perceptions Over Time: The Influence of the European Fantasy of the Orient on Eugene Delacroix’s

Femmes d’Alger dans leur Appartement. ByRebeccaBlake

ABSTRACT:ThetwopaintingsofFemmesd’AlgerdansleurappartementbytheFrencheighteenth-centuryartistEugeneDelacroixreflectvariationsintheartist’sdesireforattemptedrealismandtheimplantationoffantasy.PrimaryevidenceintheformofDelacroix’sjournalentriesandcorrespondencerevealhisaimtoaccuratelycapturehissurroundingsduringhis1832triptoNorthAfrica.ThereisadisparitybetweentheartistsstatedaspirationforacandiddepictionofNorthAfrica andhis fantasised representationof theAlgerianwomen.Hisdesireforrealismisultimatelyonlyhalf-consciouslyarticulatedand overshadowed by the European fantasy of the Orient. This paperwillexplore how time, nostalgia, and fictional perceptions warped the artist’srecollectionofvisualinformationfromhis1832trip,resultinginaspectsoffantasyinhis1834paintingthatbecomeamplifiedinhislaterwork.

This essay analyses the influence of nostalgia and fantasy upon the artist EugeneDelacroix’sinterpretationandrepresentationoftheAlgerianhareminhistwoversionsofFemmesd’AlgerdansleurAppartement,orWomenofAlgiers.ThetwopaintingsdepictthreewomenandablackslavewithinanAlgerianharem.ThisscenewasviewedfirsthandbyDelacroixduringanimpromptuvisittoAlgeriafollowingadiplomaticmissioninMorocco in 1832. The two paintings, created in 1834 and between 1847 and 1849,portraythesameimagebutevoketwoverydifferentscenes(Fig.1&Fig.2).PrimaryevidenceintheformofDelacroix’sjournalentries,sketches,andcorrespondencerevealtheartist’sdesireforanauthenticrenderingofhissurroundingsduringhis1832triptoAlgeria.However, visual analysisof thepaintings reflectsadifferent image,onemoreconcernedwithdepictingtheEuropeanfantasyof theexotic ‘Orient’ thanreality.Thisessay exploresDelacroix’s attempted articulationof realism, aswell as the aspects offantasywithin his two paintings of the Algerian harem.Delacroix’s socialmilieu as aEuropeanmale,hispositionasaforeigner,aswellastheinfluenceoftimeandnostalgia,haswarpedhisrecollectionofthevisualinformationhecollectedduringhis1832trip.Theartist’simplantationoffantasyandattemptedrealismvariesbetweenthetwoworks.


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ThelaterpaintingdisplaysanincreasedportrayaloftheEuropeanfantasyandareduceddepictionof femaleautonomy.Thechanges in the laterworkcanbeattributed to theinfluenceofnostalgiaandtheEuropeanfantasyoftheOrient.ThroughapplicationofabroaderanalyticalmethodologythisessayexplorestheattemptedrealismandvaryingseverityofDelacroix’scolonialistdepictionsinhistwoversionsofFemmesd’Algers(Fig.1&Fig2).

The influential 1978 work Orientalism by Edward Said has shaped analysis ofeighteenth-centurydepictionsofNorthAfricabyEuropeanartists.SinceitspublicationoverthirtyyearsagoOrientalismhasradicallyalteredtheinterpretationofthewesterndepictionoftheEast.Itwasinstrumentalinrecognisingthebinarythat‘conceptualizedtheOrientasfeminine,erotic,exotic,andsavage,allowingtheWesttoaccedeinpositionofsuperiorityasChristian,civilizedandmoral’(Lewis1993,54).ItwasinstrumentalinhighlightingtheEuropeanfantasyoftheOrientandthedevelopmentofthe‘EastWestparadigm’thathasbeenthestandardforreviewingWesterndepictionsoftheEastforthelast10years.AsEdwardSaidhighlightsthisinhisworkOrientalismReconsidered,‘TheOrientandtheOccidentarefactsproducedbyhumanbeings,andassuchmustbestudiedasintegralcomponentsofthesocial,andnotthedivineornaturalworld.Becausethesocialworldincludesthepersonorsubjectdoingthestudyingaswellastheobjectorrealm being studied, it is imperative to include them both in any consideration ofOrientalism’(Said2013,90).Thesocial,politicalandreligiousbeliefsofanindividual’stime strongly affect the manner in which they approach and interpret a subject.Subsequent readings and applications of his theology have at times created narrowinterpretations that don’t account for deviations from the east-west paradigm. Said’sworkisintegralforthebasicframeworkofthisanalysishoweverithasbeenexpandedtorecognisedeviationsthatdon’tfitwithinthetypicalpost-colonialanalysis.Thispaperidentifies theartist’spersonal intentionsaswell as the influencing factors to createamorecompleteideaofthereasoningbehindEugeneDelacroix’sdepictionofNorthAfricainFemmesd’Alger.

ThescholarRogerBenjaminhasidentifiedartistsandworksthatfailtofitintothedichoticconstrainsofpost-colonialtheory.HediscussesthedifferingrangeofEuropeanrepresentationofNorthAfrica inhis bookOrientalistAesthetics. This academicwork

RebeccaBlake|EuropeanFantasyoftheOrientandDelacroix

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analysespaintingssuchasRenoir’sOdalisque(AnAlgerianWoman)inanexpandedformofpost-colonialtheory.HediscussesthedifferingrangeofEuropeanrepresentationofNorth Africa in Orientalist Aesthetics. His work is based upon thorough researchdocumentingallpossibleinfluencingfactorsthatmayplayupontheartist.Alargechapterof Orientalist Aesthetics is dedicated to the depiction of French Algeria, studying thesocialcirclesthesetravellingartistsmovedinwhilstinAlgeria,thesuburbstheyresidedin, and their personal comments from journals and correspondence. Benjamin usesartist’s statements in personal journals and correspondence to highlight how theirinterpretationsofNorthAfricadon’tfitintothemonolithictheoriesofOrientalism.ItisoneofthefirstmajorapplicationsofSaid’stheoriestoArtHistoryandavaluableadditiontothisdiscussionofOrientalism.OneofthemainbenefitsoftheBenjamin’stextishisrecognitionofworksthatdon’tfitwithinanarrowapplicationofthepost-colonialbinary.Itisa‘seriesofmicro-studies’thatexploresthedifferinginfluencesandaimsthatfactorupon depictions of French North Africa by European artists (Benjamin 2003, 6).Benjamin’sstudyisnoticeablymissingresearchontheworkandlifeofEugeneDelacroix.Heisoftenreferencedduetohisimportanceduringthisandsubsequentperiods,butisnot studied as a singular artist. This paper aims to apply Benjamin’smethodology ofexpanded post-colonial theory to the analysis of Eugene Delacroix’s two paintings ofFemmed’Alger.

TheEuropeanfantasyoftheexotic‘Orient’createdapreconceptionofNorthAfricathatinfluencedtheinterpretationofsensoryinformationfortravellingEuropeanartists,writersandtourists.Thefantasywasnottheimaginativemusingsofanindividualbutratherthecollectivedevelopmentofafalseideaperpetuatedovermanycenturies.Theinterestintheculturesofthe‘East’beganasearlyastheseventeenthcenturywiththeJesuits and the introductionofChineseand Japaneseart, culture, and language to thewestern world through travel and trade (Le Cesne 1994, 30). This cross-culturaltransitionignitedafascinationwithallthingsforeign.Fromheremanytravelaccounts,aswellaspiecesofliteratureandartwerecreated.SomeintentionallyusedNorthAfricaasamise-en-scenefortheirownimaginativefantasies.ThoughanumberofwritersandartistsinthisperiodintendedtorecreateaccurateandunadorneddepictionsofNorthAfrica and the Middle East they inherently ended up reinforcing existing culturalstereotypes.Theseworksparaded fictionas factandeachassisted indeveloping,and


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thenvalidating,afalseidea.Literarysources,suchasAThousandandOneNights,createdafantasyworldofopulencefilledwithschemingsultansandvulnerableodalisques.Inaddition,manyworksincludingMontesquieu’sPersianLetters,1721,andCarleVanLoo’s1705–1765 Ottoman style paintings such as Sultana taking coffee, reflect thedevelopmentoftheEuropeanfantasyofthe‘Orient’.ThetourismindustryalsoassistedinpropagatingthemyththroughthecreationandpromotionofanidealisedNorthAfricafulloferoticism,mystery,andadventure.Theyprofitedfromthisfantasybypromotingaromanticisedimageof‘Authentic’NorthAfricatocurioustravellers(Archer2010,72).These fantasies permeated into literature and art, perpetuating a cycle of falserepresentation. As the myth developed each subsequent work drew from the samesources,validatingandinturnspreadingthefalsetheory.Thefantasyvariedbetweenindividual travellers and genders as somemale artists andwriter’s eroticised femaleforms. Women still applied their own form of fantasy to the local women such asparallelingthemtomythologicalbeings,suchasprettyfairies:‘AsthefairypalacesoftheArabianNightsare real, somustbe their fairyowners’ (Roberts2007,66).While thefantasy varied between genders and individual travellers, themysticism and fictionalaspects remained the same. Eighteenth- and nineteenth- century artists and writerstravelled toNorthAfricawithpreconceptionsdictatedby theEuropean fantasyof theOrient1 This fantasy has subconsciously permeated into Delacroix’s depiction of theAlgerianharem,particularlyinhislater1847–49version.

Inadditiontothedesiresforexoticismandfantasy,therewerealsomoresinisterimperialisticfantasiesofownershipandforcedsubservience.ThecolonisationofAlgeriain 1830 represented among other things a European desire to infiltrate and dictatecontroloverthecolonisedpeopleofAlgeria.ThedesiretoexertpowerexpandedintotheAlgerianhome.ScholarshavediscussedtheEuropeanmaleperceptionthattheprivateAlgerianhome, and the veiledAlgerianwoman,was the last remaining frontier to beconquered.2ThisimperialisticconceptinterpretedAlgerianwomenasimprisonedbythe

1EugeneDelacroixtravelledtoNorthAfricafor6monthsasanaccompanyingartisttoapoliticalenvoy.In1832heaccompaniedCharlesContedeMornayonthediplomaticmissiontoestablishfriendlyrelationsandnegotiateatreatywiththeSultanofMorocco.2The French colonisedAlgeria in 1830. Zeynep Celik compares the nineteenth century EuropeanmalefascinationwithMuslimwomen,andtheirdesiretouncoverprivatespacesandunveilthewomen,withthecoloniser’sdesiretoconquer.SherecognisedinEuropeanliteraturethattheMuslimfemale isthemost


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Algerianpatriarchy,needingliberationfromreligiousandculturalconstraintsthroughpenetrationofprivatespacesandunveilingofthefemale’sfacesandforms(Celik1992,71). This fascinationwith exposing the faces ofMuslimwomenwas a visible threadthroughtheartandwritingsoftravellingartists,tourists,andwriterssuchasLadyMaryWortley Montagu, Henry Fielding, and Jean-Leon Gerome. The author Malek Alloulaexploredthisconceptfurther.HehighlightedtheEuropeantravellersinterpretationanddesiresfortheAlgerianwomentobeimprisonedasslaveswithintheirownhomes.3ThisismirroredinthereflectionsofthetravellingSwiss-FrencharchitectLeCorbusierwhodescribedhousesonquietstreetsofIstanbulas‘perhaps…prisonsofodalisques’(Celik1992,71).ThisWesterndesiretoinfiltrateandconquerthe‘lastremainingfrontier’haspreviouslybeenappliedbyanumberofscholarsintheiranalysisofworksbyOrientalistpainters,presumingthatallartistshavesuchnegativedesires.4Althoughthiswasoftenthe case, it should not be automatically assumed. By temporarily removing thisassumption during analysis the variations in the depiction of Algerian women byDelacroixcanbeanalysed,enablingtherecognitionoftheamplificationofsuchfantasiesinDelacroix’slater1847–1849version.

By expanding beyond a traditional post colonial analysis the variation in thedepictionofthefantasymayberecognised.IfoneweretoreadDelacroix’stwopaintingsWomenofAlgiersthrougharigidpostcolonialanalysisthescenewouldbeinterpretedasthe purposeful depiction of this false fantasy, influenced by Delacroix’s ownwesterndesires. The assumption that all Orientalist artworks are purposely influenced by adeceptiveexoticismcanresultin‘undercuttingone’ssenseofrealizing’(Jenkins2012).Therecognitionoffalsefantasyisimportant,butshouldnotovershadowthepossibilitythatsomeformofrealism,orattemptedrealism,maybeembeddedinthedepiction.

Delacroix’stwoversionsofFemmesd’AlgerhavebeenselectedforthisdiscussionbecauseoftheirvaryingrepresentationoftheEuropeanfantasyovertime,andthewealth

loadedsymbolofIslam.Highlightingthecolonialistconceptthatifthewomenwereconquered,thecorestructureofAlgeriansocietywouldalsobedestroyed(Celik1992,71).3 The staging of photographs of Algerian women by Western photographers often placing eroticisedwomenintosequesteredsituationsbyplacingthembehindmetalbars,orlockedawayinrooms(Alloula1986)4MostapplicationsofSaid’sOrientalismhaveinterpretedEuropeandepictionsofNorthAfricaasanegativedesiretodictatecontrolovertheforeignculture.


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ofprimaryevidence.The firsthand information in the formof journals, sketches,andcorrespondenceinformsusoftheartist’sinterpretationandrecollectionofAlgeria,andhisdesiresindepiction.ThisprimaryevidenceforDelacroixcontradictstheassumptionofapurposefulnegativedepictioninhis1834painting.ThejournalfromhisAlgeriantriprecordshisdesiretodepicthissurroundingsinarealisticmanner.Hisdiarysuggestshewas in awe, and inspired, byhis surroundings inMoroccoandAlgeriaduringhis six-monthtrip.Inhis1832journalfromNorthAfricahewrote:

I’mevensurethattheconsiderablesumofcuriousinformationthatIshallbringbackfromherewillbeoflittleuseofme.AwayfromthelandwhereIdiscovered them, suchparticularswillbe like trees torn from theirnativesoil;mymindwillhaveforgottenit’simpressions,andIshalldistaintogiveacoldandimperfectrenderingofthelivingandstrikingsublimitythatliesallaboutonehere,andstaggersonewithitsreality(LeCesne1994).

DelacroixwasawareofhisfleetingabilitytoaccuratelyrememberthesceneshesawinNorthAfricaandheendeavoredtocapturehissurroundingsthroughsketchestocreatea perfect rendering ofAlgeria andMorocco as his saw them.During his trip he filledfifteensmalldiariesaswellassevensmallsketchbooks.5Thisattemptatrealismishintedat in the earlier 1834 paintingwhere Delacroix has rendered the finer details of thepaintingingreatdetail.Thenecklacesofthewomen,thesumptuoussilks,andtherichcolours are all accurately depicted. Delacroix’s sketches thoroughly catalogued thecoloursandobjectsofthescenesothathemaybettertranslatethesesketchesforafinalworkuponhisreturn(Fig.4&Fig.5).

Despitetheartist’sattemptatanauthenticdepictionofhissurroundingsinNorthAfrica,hisinterpretationofAlgeriancultureandartwasmarredbytheinfluenceoftheEuropeanfantasyoftheOrient.Delacroix’sinterpretationofhissurroundingsinAlgeriawasdistortedbyhispositionasaforeignerpreviouslyexposedtotheEuropeanmythofexoticism.Asstatedbytheartistinhisjournalentries,hewasfascinatedandappreciatedhissurroundingsinAlgeria.OnApril28,1832hewrote‘Theyareclosertonatureinathousand ways: their dress, the form of their shoes. And so beauty has a share ineverythingtheymake.Asforus,inourcorsets,ourtightshoes,ourridiculouspinching

5 He also created an album of eighteen watercolours for his travelling companion, Charles Comte deMornay,asamementoofthetrip(Lemaire2013,212).


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clothing,wearepitiful.Thegracesexactvengeanceforourscience’(Delacroix,etal.1980,122). However, he gravitated towards aspects ofMoroccan andAlgerian culture thatparalleledandvalidatedhiswesternfantasy.InhiscorrespondencebackhometofriendsandfamilyDelacroix’saccountsretoldaspectsofreallifethatreflectedhispreconceivedunderstandings.InalettertoAlexisdeTocquevilleseveralyearsafterhistripherevealstheinfluencethatapreviouslyreadtexthaduponhisperceptionofAlgeriaandMorocco:

NeverinmylifehaveIobservedanythingmorebizarrethanthefirstsightofTangier.ItisataleoutoftheThousandandOneNights...Aprodigiousmixofracesandcostumes ...Thiswholeworldmovesaboutwithanactivity thatseemsfeverish.(Noon,etal.2016,25)

ThisbookArabianNights(orThousandandOneNights)hadaprofoundinfluenceontheEuropeanconceptofthe‘Orient’.TranslatedtoFrenchbetween1704–1717,andthentoEnglishin1885,itwasimmenselypopularinbothBritainandFranceintheeighteenth-andnineteenth-centuries.Thisbookwasacompositeoffantasytalesoftheeast.Thetexthadaprofoundinfluenceonmanytravellingartistsandwriters.FortheEuropeanreaderitconjuredatimelessworldofexoticadventurefilledwithschemingsultans,sexualisedodalisques,violenceandabundantwealth.Thetalesstimulatedthereader’simaginationsandcreatedpreconceptionsofamagical,exotic,realm.MaryRobertshighlightshowanumber of female travellers interpretations of the harem were framed throughpreconceptionsdevelopedfromtheArabianNights.6EmilyHornbyfrequentlyreferencedthetextduringher1856visitexclaiming:‘OurvisitseemedverylikeataleoftheArabianNights’(Roberts2007,69).Thebookcreatedadream-likefantasyoftheOrient,whichaddedtotheperpetualcycleoftheOrientalfantasy.

Recently, there has been scholarly discussion suggesting that culturally chargedobjectswereartisticallyinsertedintothesceneofDelacroix’stwoversionsofFemme’sd’Alger.Arigidanalysisofthetwoworksthroughpost-colonialisttheoryinterpretsthedepictionofNorthAfricabyEuropeanartistsasworksbearingnoresemblancetoreality,influenced with stereotypes and images of fantasy Previous analyses of EugeneDelacroix’sFemmesd’Algerhavediscussedthepossibilityofadditionsofsymbolisminto

6EmilyHornby’s visit to the harem of Riza Pasa in 1856was framed by comparing her experience inOttomanIstanbulbacktothebook(Roberts2007).


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theworks.Forexample,scholarssuchasThomasB.Colehavereadthenarghilepipe,charcoal burner, Islamic tiles and the sumptuous furnishings as stereotypical motifsinsertedtosetthescene.7TheadditionofthenarghilepipehasalsobeenparalleledtootherOrientalistworksofafalsefantasysuchasJean-Auguste-DominiqueIngresGrandeOdalisque(Fig.3).8Thisovertlyeroticisedworkbearslittleresemblancetorealityandreliesuponthefalseinsertionofstereotypicalobjectssuchasthenarghilepipeandthewomen’scostumingtosetthescene,addingmysticismandarousalthroughassociationto the exotic fantasy.9 Both the depiction of the figures, and the title, are colonialistrepresentationsoftheEuropeanmalefantasy.10Insuchworkstheadditionofthepipewas interpreted as a stereotypical setting of the scene as an exotic space of moraldepravity. The nineteenth-century European viewerwould likely parallel the femalessmoking tomoral looseness, associating it with smoking hashish or opium. PreviousscholarlyanalysessuchasMaryHarperhavelinkedthepaintingsWomenofAlgiersandGrandeOdalisqueasmutuallycolonialistworksdue to theadditionof themotifs (Ma2011,8).However,thisassumptionrunstheriskofcategorisingtheworksunderasingleconstruct,assumingthesameintensityofcolonialistthought.

AlthoughtheseculturallychargedobjectsappearinDelacroix’sFemme’sd’Alger,theirrepresentationslightlyvariesincomparisontotheworkofhispeers.Theseobjectsdo evoke the stereotypes of the ‘East’. The rich silk fabrics, ornate Islamic tiles, thenarghilepipe,andthejewelleryofthewomensetthemise-en-sceneofthe‘exoticorient’.Although these objects were often added to paintings to create the exotic fantasy,evidence suggests that they might have been part of the scene Delacroix viewed. In

7ThomasB.Coleinterpretstheadditionofthenarghilepipeasafalseadditionintheaimsofsettingthescene,aswellastheconnotationofmoraldepravitythoughthedepictionofsmokinghashishoropium.ThishadnegativeperceptionsforthenineteenthcenturyEuropeanviewer(Cole2011,1).8ThescholarMaryJ.HarpercomparedDelacroix’sadditionofthenarghilepipeandcharcoalburnertothesameadditioninGrandeOdalisquebyIngres(Figure3).SheparalleledtheadditionthepipeinthisworktoIngressettingofthescenewithstereotypicalOrientalprops.9 Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867), Jean-Leon Gerome (1824-1904) and Auguste Renoir(1841-1919)arejustasmallnumberofartistswhocreatedapurposefullyobjectifyingrepresentationoftheNorthAfricanharem.Thewomenareoftenwesternisedandtheartistsusestereotypicalmotifstosetthescene(Lemaire2013,242).10Delacroix’s contemporaries, suchas Ingres,used fetishisedwords suchas ‘odalisque’ and ‘Harem’, intheirtitles.Delacroix’stitlesarenoticeablyabsentofsuchimpassionedwords.Heoptsforthemoreneutraltermsofapartmentandwomen.Hisshiftintitleanddepictionfromhiscontemporariesdoesnotreflecttheabsenceofcolonialistthoughtbutitdoessuggestadesireforamoresensitivedepiction.


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Algeria in1832Delacroix created twosketchesof theAlgerianharem.11They containboth the narghile pipe and the charcoal burner (Fig. 4& Fig. 5). In addition, CharlesCornault’s recount of Delacroix’s visit to the Algerian harem also referenced theappearanceof thepipe.He recalled that inpreparation for theartistsvisit: ‘Thewife,warnedbyherhusband,preparedpipesandcoffee,donnedherfinestdress,andwaited,sittingonacouch[fortheirarrival]’(Archer2010,77).However,thevalidityofthisquoteis questionable and it should be treated cautiously. 12 As discussed by Roberts, thenarghile pipe and charcoal burnerwere objects thatwere often used in Algeria, andregularlyappearedintheharemsofelitesociety.13TogetherthisinformationpresentsapossibleargumentthattheobjectsdidexistaspartofDelacroix’sglimpsedscene.Itisbynomeansenoughevidenceforadefinitiveargumentbutratheropensthediscussion.

Byrecognisingthepossiblerealisminthedepictionoftheseobjectswecanidentifythe rendering of these objects in finer detail in comparison to the rest of the scene.Regardlessofwhethertheobjectswererealor inserted,Delacroixhasamplifiedthemthroughattentiontodetailincomparisontohisrepresentationoftherestofthescene.Inthe1834versionDelacroixpaintedtheclothingandadornmentsofthewomen,andtheIslamicaspectsofdesign,withanemphasisondetail.Thisemphasisreflectshispersonalfixationontheobjects.Byrecognisingthepossiblerealismoftheseobjectsitenablesthereadertorecognisetheemphasisofdetailuponthesestereotypicalobjects.Delacroix’sattemptatrealismisultimatelyonlypartiallyfulfilledduetohispersonaladaptionofthescenethroughamplificationofculturallychargedobjects.Thisdepictioncanbeseenasaformof‘counterfeitrealism’,whereanimagedisplaysspecksoftruthfulnesstovalidateandmaskthefantasyofthework.14

11DelacroixwasinvitedtoentertheharemofanAlgerianportofficialwhenhewasinAlgeriaforthreedaysin1832.12ThequoteisnotdirectlyfromEugeneDelacroix’sdiariesorletters.InsteaditisarecountofDelacroix’svisit through a third party, and it should be treated cautiously. The flaws in this text as a source arediscussedbyHarper(1996,54).13Robertsdiscussesthestereotypicalassociationsofthepipewiththeperceivedsexualabandonofthefemalesoftheharem,andthedominantperceptionsofsmokingamongBritishsociety(2007,75).14ThetermwascreatedbythescholarMalekAlloulainhisdescriptionoffictionalworksthatusesmall,superficialaspectsof realismtobolsterasceneaswithout ita ‘wholeendeavorwoulddegenerate intogratuitousfantasy’(Alloula1986,52).


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AnalysingOrientalistpaintingsthroughanexpandedpost-colonialcontextenablestheidentificationofadditionsofrealismtosupporttheEuropeanfantasyofthe‘Orient’.Melek Alloula’s The Colonial Harem, explores the concept of counterfeit realism incolonialist photographs and postcards of Algerian women. Investigating therepresentationofthewomen,Alloulaexplainshowanethnographicalibiisconstructedthroughtheadditionofsmallaspectsoftruth(Alloula1986,52).Inaddition,thisworkexploresthecolonialistphotographer’srepetitivedepictionoftheharem,aspacethattheEuropeanmalewouldnotusuallyhaveaccessto.ItcanbearguedthatcounterfeitrealismisoccurringwithinDelacroix’stwopaintingsFemmesd’Algerthroughtheartist’suseofaspectsofrealismtobolster thescene. Delacroix’searlierstateddesire foranhonestrenderingisultimatelya‘half-consciousarticulation’ofrealism(Nochlin1971,105).Hisimplantation and amplification of exoticism, either purposefully or subconsciously,reflects his desire to separate what he saw in Algeria in 1832 with his fantasypreconceptionsoftheexotic‘Orient’.Arelativelackofprivyandsensitiveunderstandingofthesubjectmattercouldaccountforhisfailuretofullycomprehendthesubjectmatter. It is perhaps this lack of complete understanding that accounts for Delacroix’samplificationofdetail.Thisisevidentinothernineteenth-centuryOrientalistpaintings.Withoutbeingabletoexaminesuchprivatespacesinreallifetheseworksoftenhadlargevoidsinnarrative.15Suchworksfailtoportrayastrongstoryline,insteaddepictingNorthAfricanmenandwomenas stagnant forms failing toengagewithoneanother. InheranalysisofJohn-FrederickLewis’spaintings,Robertsdiscussesthelackofnarrativeanddepictionofculturalcustomsintheartist’spaintingsof theharemsof Istanbul(2007,21). She links the noticeable absence of any social narrative to the artist’s lack ofunderstanding of the private space. Barred from penetrating the harem, Lewis wasunable to depict the social interactions of the space from personal experience. Thisresulted in stagnant narratives in his harem paintings. Robert’s interpreted Lewis’elaboratedecorationasaformofcounterfeitrealism,appliedtostrengthenhisworkandvalidate its authenticity through an honest depiction of the decorative aspects of thescene.

15A small number of travelling female artists were allowed to visit the Harems of elite society. Theyrecountedtheirvisitsbycreatingliteratureandartworksinspiredbytheirexperience.Asmallnumberofmale travellers also visited brothels, and looked through peepholes, but this scene would have beendramaticallydifferenttotheprivateharemsoftypicalAlgeriansociety(Rahmlow2011–2012,153).


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InrelationtoDelacroix’sWomenofAlgierstherealsoappearstobeabolsteringof

thescenethroughattemptedrealism.Theartistamplifiescertainaspectsthroughamorepreciserendering.Culturallychargedobjectssuchasthewomen’sethnicclothingandtheinteriordécorareempathisedthroughattentiontodetail.It’spossiblethatDelacroix’soneglimpseintotheAlgerianharemfailedtoprovideasolidunderstandingofthesocialspace.DelacroixwasonlyinAlgeriaforthreedaysandhisvisittotheAlgerianharemwaslikelybutaglimpse(Khanna2008,150).TheharemwasanactivespaceandthehubofthehouseholdfortheAlgerianfemale.ThisactivespaceisdepictedinHenrietteBrown’s1861 painting of a Constantinople harem, Une Visite (Interieur de Harem,Constantinople,1860).Itdepictsthebusy,bustlingnatureoftheharem.Thewomenaredepicted partaking in day-to-day life, conversing with friends and attending to theirchildren.IncomparisonDelacroix’sportraysthewomeninFemme’sd’Algersasstagnantfigures.Depictionsof realisticharemsocial interactionsarenoticeablyabsent inbothversionsofDelacroix’sWomenofAlgiers,inparticularthelater1847–49painting.Inthefirst version the women are portrayed as motionless figures, rather than livingautonomousindividuals.Thereisasmalldepictionofintheautonomyfromthewomaninthelefthandcorner.Shelookstowardstheviewerwithastrongstare,perhapsduetothe intrusion of the private space by themale European artists. In the later 1845–7painting these small aspects of narrative are lost. In this version the women do notconverseorappear torecogniseoneanother. Insteadtheyareresignedtobeing inertfigures,asthoughtheyarewaitingforthearrivaloftheviewer.Althoughitisenhancedinthelaterwork,bothpaintingsreflectavoidinnarrative.Thisispossiblyduetoavoidinunderstanding.Aspectsofrealismhaveultimatelybeenusedtovalidatethefantasy,andbolsterthevoidsofnarrative,withinthepainting.

Thesmallaspectofnarrative in theoriginal1834paintingresidesmainly in thedepictionoftheautonomyoftheseatedfemale.Herresistancetotheartist’sintrusion,and the removal of this emotion in the later work is a small but important shift inDelacroix’s depiction of the Algerian women. The visual display of emotion by thereclining woman can only be recognised through analysing the work through anexpanded form of post-colonial theory. By recognising this small appearance of


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autonomyintheearlierwork,thereadercaninturnidentifytheremovaloftheautonomyofthefemalesinthelaterwork.

The small shift in representation signifies a change in theartist’s recollectionofvisualinformation,andtheirdesiresinrepresentation.Thestrong,challengingstareoftherecliningwomanintheoriginal1834paintingisadisplayoffemaleautonomy.HerfacereflectsherhostilitytowardsthepenetrationoftheprivatespacebytheEuropeanmaleartist.Thissmallappearanceofautonomybynomeanssignifiestheartistsdesiretorepresentthewomenascompletelyautonomousindividualswithoutobjectificationorunderlying desires of ownership. The 1834 painting Femmes d’Alger also containselementsof the typical imperialisticharem.However, it is important torecognise thissmallaspectofnarrativeandfemaleautonomy,especiallytorecognisetheremovaloftheseaspectsinthelater1847–49painting.

The variation in the depiction of narrative, and the autonomy of the females,highlightsthechangesinrecollectionthatanartistmayencounterthroughthepassageoftime.Throughanexpandedpost-colonialanalysis,theviewercanidentifytheartist’sremoval of thewomen’s sovereignty. In the second 1847–1849 painting the Algerianwomennolongercommunicateanyuneasetowardsthepenetrationofthespace.Insteadthe reclining woman on the left now invites the viewer closer with a suggestive,beckoningsmile.Shehasbecomeobjectifiedasherdécolletageisexposedthroughherlooseclothing,revealinghernakedformunderneath.Thewomenhavebeenreducedtoa less assertive size and they fall back into the space. The room itself has beentransformedfromthelightfilledspaceoftheearlierpaintingintoadarkcloisteredroomthat evokes a feeling of imprisonment. The relative autonomy of the woman in theoriginalpaintinghasnowbeenremoved.Theblackslavewhowaspreviouslyinmotionmovingacrosstheroomnowmerelyactsasaprop,assistingtheobjectificationbypullingback the curtain to better reveal thewomen. These changes alter the scene from theattemptedrealisminthe1834versionintoaworkoffantasy.

WhilepostcolonialanalysisenablestheidentificationofcolonialistideasinbothofDelacroix’sworks,itdoesnotenablerecognitionoftheaspectsofrealism(orattemptedrealism) in the earlier work. Delacroix’s second painting contains similarities to the


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original, but differs from its precursor inmany significant details. It is only throughexpandingpost-colonialanalysis that thesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenthetwoworksbecomesapparent,enablingtherecognitionoftheinfluenceoftime,nostalgia,andtheEuropeanfantasyuponthesecondwork.Thechangesofthesecondpaintingcanbeattributed to the influences of nostalgia and the perils that re-imagination play uponrecollection. Robertsdiscusses thedangersof reminiscingwhenattempting todepictrealism, stating that memory ‘has a fictional dimension, it can be constructed,represented, and reestablished with nostalgia playing an important role in itsretrospectiveevocation’(Roberts2007,10).DelacroixhimselfrecognisedtheinfluenceofnostalgiauponhisrecollectionsofNorthAfrica.Hewroteinhisjournalin1853that:

IbegantomakesomethingtolerableofmyAfricanjourneyonlywhenIhadforgotten the trivial details and rememberednothing but the striking andpoeticsideofthesubject.UptothattimeIhadbeenhauntedbythispassionforaccuracythatmostpeoplemistakefortruth(Zieve2009,4).

Delacroixwas aware of the shift in depiction in his later painting, but he saw it as apositivemove.Hisdepictionofthewomenhasmovedawayfromattempedrealismintothedepictionoffantasy,ultimatelycreatingamorewhimsicalandemotivepaintingbutalso overly sexualised and objectified thewomen. A rigid application of post-colonialtheory masks the important differences between Delacroix’s two works, such as theinfluenceof nostalgiaupon the later1847–49painting.16Analysing colonial artworksthrougharigid,preconceivedbinarycancreategapsinanalysis.Itcollapsestheanalysisintotwoseparatefactions:thedepictionoftheoppressedandthedepictionofresistance,andfailstoaddressanyconvergencefromthesepositions.Thiscannarrowtheanalysisintoonlydiscussingaspectsoftheartthatvalidatethesepreconceptions.Expandingthebinarytheorycancreateamoresensitiveanalysis,revealingthevariationsbetweentwoorientalistsworksthatbothshowaspectsofimperialismandobjectification.

Throughanexpandedformofpost-colonial theoryonecanrecognisethewebofinfluences that affected Eugene Delacroix’s depiction of Algerian women in Femmesd’Alger.ThedepictionofNorthAfricabyEuropeanartistsduringthenineteenthcentury

16 The scholar Jeff Karem discusses the possible flaws of postcolonial theory in his article ‘On theAdvantagesandDisadvantagesofPostcolonialTheoryforPan-AmericanStudy’(Karem2001)


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wasconvolutedwiththeswayoftheartist’spositionasaforeigner,theirEuropeansocialmilieu, and previous exposure to a fantasy interpretation of North Africa. Delacroix’sdocumentedpersonaldesires for realismwereultimatelyonly semi-articulated inhis1834versionduetohishabitus.Hislater1847–1849versionofthesamesceneisanevengreaterdeviationfromhisoriginalaimsduetotheinfluenceofnostalgiaandtimeuponthe artist’s personal recollection of visual information. As an artist of the romanticistperiodhisamplificationoffantasywasultimatelyinterpretedasapositivecreativemove.Throughananalysisofthesetwoworksandtheprimaryevidenceoftheartistsdesires,onecanrecognisethattheinfluencesinthenineteenth-centurydepictionofNorthAfricawasattimesmorecomplexthanpurelyimperialisticdesiresofownership.RReeffeerreenncceessAlloula,Malek,TheColonialHarem,Ed.&Trabns.Godzich,M,andGodzich,W.,Minneapolis:UniversityofMinnesotaPress,1986Archer,Isabella,‘(Re)EnvisioningOrientalistNorthAfrica:ExploringRepresentationofMaghredianIdentitiesinOrientalandOccidentalArt,Museums,andMarkets’,Intersections,Vol.11,no.2(2010)pp.67–107Benjamin,Roger,OrientalismAesthetics:Art,ColonialismandFrenchNorthAfrica,1880–1930,London,England:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,2003Celik,Zeynep,‘LeCorbusier,Orientalism,Colonialism’,Assemblage,Vol.17(1992),pp.58–77Cole,ThomasB.,‘TheCover’,JAMAVol.306,no.4(2011)Delacroix,Eugene,andHubertWellington,TheJournalofEugeneDelacroix:ASelection,NewYork:CornellUniveristyPress,1980Harper,MaryJ.‘ThePoeticsandPoliticsofDelacroix'sRepresentationoftheHareminWomenofAlgiersinTheirApartment’In.PicturingtheMiddleEast:AHundredYearsoftheEuropeanOrientalismaSymposium,ed.HenryKrawitz,NewYork:DaheshMuseum,1996Hornby,EmiliaBithynia,InandaroundStamboul,London:RichardBentley,1858Jenkins,EugeniaZuroski.‘Introduction:Exotisim,Cosmopolitanism,andFiction'sAestheticsofDiversity’,Eighteenth-CenturyFiction,Vol.25,no.1(2012)pp.1–7


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Karem,Jeff.,‘OntheAdvantagesandDisadvantagesofPostcolonialTheoryforPan-AmericanStudy’,TheNewCentennialReview,Vol.1,no.3(2001)pp.87–116Khanna,Ranjana,AlgeriaCuts:WomenandRepresentation,1830tothePresent,RedwoodCity:StanfordUniversityPress,2008LeCesne,Delphine.DelacroixinMorocco,Paris:Flammarion,1994Lemaire,Gerard-Georges,Orientalism:TheOrientinWesternArt,China:H.FullmanPublishing,2013Lewis,Reina,‘OnlyWomenShouldGotoTurkey,HenrietteBrowneandWomen'sOrientalism’,ThirdText,Vol.7,No.22(1993)pp.53–54Ma,Laurel,‘TheRealandImaginaryHarem:AssessingDelacroix'sWomenofAlgiersasanImperialistApparatus’,PennHistoryReview,Vol.19,no.1(2011)pp.9–16Nochlin,Linda,Realism,Massachusetts:TheMurrayPrintingCompany,1971Noon,Patrick,andChristopherRiopelle,DelacroixandtheRiseofModernArt,London:TheNationalGalleryCompany,2016Rahmlow,Kurt.‘EmpireofLandscape:SpaceandIdeologyinFrenchColonialAlgeria(Review)’,Nineteenth-CenturyFrenchStudies,Vol.40,no.1,(2011–2012)pp.153–55Roberts,Mary.,IntimateOutsiders:TheHareminOttomanandOrientalistArtandTravelLiterature,Durham:DukeUniversityPress,2007Said,EdwardW.,ReflectionsonExile:AndOtherLiteraryandCulturalEssays,London:GrantaBooks,2013Zieve,Karen,PaintingbetweentheLines:EugeneDelacroix,Orientalism,andOtherHistories,NewYorkUniversity,2009


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AAppppeennddiixxFigure1

EugeneDelacroix1834Femmesd’AlgerdansleurAppartementOilonCanvas;1.80mx2.29mMuseeduLouvre,France


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Figure2

EugeneDelacroixc.1847–1849FemmesD’AlgerdansleurAppartementOilonCanvas;111.13x84.14cmMuseeduFabre,FranceFigure3

Jean-Auguste-DominiqueIngres1814GrandeOdalisqueOiloncanvas;91x162cmMuseeduLouvre


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Figure4

EugeneDelacroix1832TwoArabWomenSeated(StudyforAlgerianWomeninTheirApartments)Watercolorovergraphitedrawing;10.7x13.8cmMuseeduLouvre,ParisFigure5

EugeneDelacroix1832TheWomenofAlgiers(Study)Watercolorovergraphitedrawing;10x13cmMuseeduLouvre,Paris

Section II: Opinion

Sino-American Nuclear Relations: The Need for Calm as China Becomes A 21st Century Nuclear State

ByJarrodFraser

ABSTRACT:There-emergenceofChinaasaneconomicpowerhousehasgivenitnewlevelsofboldnessinclaimingwhatitseesasitsrightfulterritoryintheSouthandEastChinaSeas.China’sclaimshavebeenseenbymanyintheUnitedStatesandAsiaasapolicyofexpansionism,comparabletoImperialistJapanin1932-45.ThesedisputeshavecoincidedwiththemodernisationofChina’snuclear forces. However, Sino-American relations can be managed despiteongoingtensionsinAsia.Thisarticlewillmakeanumberofrecommendationsto build Sino-American relations whilst China undergoes its nuclearmodernisationandmutuallyfuelledSino-Americansecurityfears.

CChhiinneesseeNNuucclleeaarrDDooccttrriinneeaannddMMooddeerrnniissaattiioonnChinahasbeenmodernisingitsnuclearforcestocatchuptotheothernuclearweaponstates.Chinaperceivesmodernisationasallowingittosafeguarditseconomicgrowth.TheUShasperceivedChina’smodernisationandterritorialdisputesastryingtocreateaSovietUnion-stylebufferbetweenitandtheWest.TheUShasbeentryingtocounterthisbyre-engagingintheregiontodefendtherules-basedglobalorder,whichisnestedinUSprimacy.ChinahassubsequentlyperceivedtheUSasaforeignpowertryingtointerferewithAsianaffairs,similartonineteenth-centuryEuropeancolonialpowers.

China’spastnucleardoctrinehasbeengovernedbyaNo-First-Usepolicy.China’sforcewasdesignedtobestrongenoughtoensurethatitcouldpreventanotherstatefromusingitsnuclearweaponstocoerceitasoccurredduringthefirstTaiwanStraitsCrisis.TheUSwasabletothreatentheuseofnuclearweaponstodiscourageChinafrominvadingTaiwan.China’snuclearforcesneededtobelargeenoughtoinflictanunacceptablelevelofdamage. This would prevent coercion while utilising the fewest number of weaponspossible, a strategy known as minimum deterrence. Minimum deterrence suited theperception held by Chinese leaders, such as Mao Zedong, who believed that nuclear


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weaponswerepredominantlysuitableforpreventingnuclearcoercion.Chinahasomittedthe No-First-Use principle from its recent DefenceWhite Paper, creating a concern itsnuclearposturewillbecomemoreoffensive.

AsChinamodernisesitsforces,otherAsianstatesareunsureifChinawillmaintainaminimumdeterrenceposture,orevolveitspolicytosupportitsperceivedexpansionism.AchangeinnucleardoctrinewillrequireachangeinChina’sforcecomposition.China’snuclear forces had been predominantly land-based, consisting mostly of de-matedwarheads formediumand long-rangemissilesystems.AnewforcecompositionwoulddissipatedeploymentofnuclearweaponsacrossaircraftandsubmarinestoensuretheycouldsurviveanattempteddisarmingfirststrikebyChina’sadversaries.It isunknown,however, who will have the authority to launch a retaliatory strike if the Chinesegovernment has been destroyed. Mutual stability is lost as it relies on both partiesunderstandingwhatcouldstartanuclearconflictandthereforewhatmustbeavoided.

TherehasbeenanongoingreviewofChinesenucleardoctrinetoincreasemobility,reliability, readiness, accuracy and the size of the force. The new doctrine would befacilitated by new missile technology, guidance systems and delivery platforms likesubmarines.GiventhecurrentSino-Americantensionsoverdisputes inAsia,managingthe relationship toprevent theescalationofanarmsracebecomes important toavoidfurther straining the relationship. Managing the perceptions of the other thereforebecomescrucial.CCuurrrreennttCClliimmaatteeThemodernisationofChina’snuclearforcesmayhavelesstodowiththeUSandmorewith China’s need to modernise. Political scientist Jeffrey Lewis stated, ‘if China’smodernizationseemsunusual,perhaps it isbecauseChina isonlynowcompletingthedeploymentcapabilities thatothercountrieshavepossessed fordecades’ (Lewis204).Though the timingof theseeventsmakesdevelopments lookoffensive,China’snuclearforceshavebeenplayingcatch-upwiththeUS.InsteadofChinatryingtoprepareitselfforexpansion,amorerealisticinterpretationisthatitistryingtonotbeleftbehindamongstmajornuclearpowers.AlthoughthismodernisationcoincideswithChinesePresidentXi

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Jinping’s‘periodofstrategicopportunity’of2000–20,ChinaisawareaSino-Americanwarwouldbedisastrousforitseconomy,populationandnationaldevelopment.

In the past, nuclear relations have been guided by the mutual assurance ofretaliation.Evenifonesidecancripplemostofitsadversary’snuclearweapons,itwillstillbe able to inflict disproportionate casualties on the other through retaliatory nuclearstrikes.Strategicstabilityiscreatedasnosidewishestosufferanuclearattack;thisexistsdespite thedistinctUSnuclearsuperioritywith7,100nuclearweapons toChina’s260(Arms Control Assoc.). States have cemented strategic stability by introducing armslimitation and non-proliferation treaties to develop trust andmutually reduce nuclearweaponsandassociateddeliverysystems.Ifastatecanlimitthedamagethattheothercaninflict,forexamplethroughananti-ballisticmissile(ABM)defencesystemtoshootdownincomingnuclearmissiles,thatstatedevelopsanadvantageandstrategicstabilitylessens.ThereinvigorationoftheUSABMsystemcreatesfearwithinChinathattheUSwill no longer be held back by the fear of China’s strike capabilities. China fears thatwithoutitsretaliatorycapabilities,theUSwillcoerceChinatopreventitfromclaimingitsperceivedrightfulterritoryinAsia.

NuclearproliferationacademicDingliShenstatesthat, ‘Asproliferationperse isaresponse to threat perception, to render non-proliferation successful it has to addressnational securitywithoutnuclearweaponry’ (Shen2008, 651). Thus, to preventSino-Americandisputes fromescalatingtonuclear levels inapotential fourthTaiwanStraitsCrisis, mutual security fears need to be solved. The author will make a number ofrecommendationstohelpmanagetheSino-Americannuclearrelations.RReeccoommmmeennddaattiioonnssBothChinaandtheUSneedtoacknowledgethenecessityofaddressingmutualsecurityconcerns.TheUSandChinaneedtorecognisetheescalatingtensionbetweenthemandengagediplomaticallyon issuessuchas theSouthandEastChinaSea.ChinahasoftenrefusedtorecognisetheauthorityofinternationalarbitrationforterritorialdisputesinareassuchastheSpratly/NanshaIslands.Ifbothsidesarenotabletodevelopmeaningfuldiplomaticengagementovertheseissues,thetwosidescouldcontinuedownapathofcontinued escalation, or enter into a stability/instability paradox. The Sino-American


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stability/instabilityparadoxmightbesimilar to the India-Pakistanparadox thatwouldlikelyseeanincreaseinlow-levelconflictwithoutnuclearescalation.Therehasalreadybeen low-level conflict duringUS Freedom-of-NavigationOperations and Chinese landreclamationprojects.Amiscalculation inresolvingaSino-Americancrisiscould,unliketheIndia-Pakistanrelationship,leadtoamajorconflictcarryingthehighriskofnuclearweapons devastation. Continued Sino-American engagement does not need to involvelarge deals or treaties immediately, however the two states need to increase bilateralconferences, talks, and visits for mutual issues. This would develop a cooperativediplomaticenvironmentwherethetwostatescouldbeginresolvingpoliticaldisputes.

The establishment of a Sino-American presidential hotline, similar to theRusso–Americanpresidentialhotline,wouldbecrucialforfacilitatingcrisismanagement.Thereis currently a hotlinebetween theUSDepartment ofDefence andChineseMinistry ofNational Defence, as well as a number of cross-military engagements. ThoughSino-Americanbilateralmilitaryexchangesaresignificant,therelationsbuilttofacilitatecrisismanagementmaynotbeenough.Thecreationofthishotlineisapublicgestureforthecommitmentofaddressingmutualsecurityconcernsandfacilitatesdirectcommunicationbetween leaders. This direct communication becomes particularly important aswithdrawing embassy staff and ambassadors has long been a diplomatic tool forescalationtosignalresolveduringacrisis.Thehotlinewouldallowdirectcommunicationtobemaintainedevenwhilecrisistensionsareattheirhighest.Negotiations

ThefinalrecommendationwouldbedevelopmentofaSino-AmericanledNuclearArmsLimitationTreaty.BoththeUSandChinahavemadetheircommitmenttoAsiapublic.Sino-Americancooperationisthereforegoingtobeneededtodecreasetensionsandlimitthe potential for nuclear escalation. If diplomatic momentum can be created andmaintained through bilateral engagement, nuclear cooperation and trust-building, thetwostatescanmovetowardsanarmslimitationtreaty,whichshouldbesupportedbynon-proliferation organisations. As states have broader security concerns, the success of aSino-American treaty would rest upon either contributing towards resolving regionaldisputespriortothetreaty,orthecreationofa‘grandbargain’.

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A ‘grandbargain’might be similar to that struck in the late1970swhere theUSrecognised theauthority thegovernmentofmainlandChina insteadof theRepublicofChina(knownasTaiwan).Inexchange,ChinaagreedtonotchallengeUSprimacyinAsia.Afuture‘grandbargain’wouldneedtoaddressbothChina’sfearofapotentiallimitationtoitseconomicgrowthandtheUSfearsofChinesedevelopmentunderminingUSprimacyinAsia.AtreatyotherwisemayrequiretheUStopermanentlyabolishitsABMdefencesysteminexchangeforlimitationsonChinesenuclearstockpilesize.CCoonncclluussiioonnIf the Sino-American relationship can adapt its bilateral engagement by recognisingmutualsecurityissues,therelationshipmaybeabletotransitiontowardsstrategicstability.Thoughthismayseemlikeashort-sightedgoal,itisfocusedonreal-worldfeasibilityandisfundamentaliftherelationshipistomovetowardsanythingresemblingcooperationorpeace.ThepreviouslymentionedrecommendationshavehighlightedtheneedforSino-American engagement. Sino-American nuclear relations can be managed despite thecurrentenvironment,whereneithersidetruststheother.Threemeansofmanagingthisare creating a cooperative non-proliferation environment, creating a Sino-AmericanpresidentialhotlineandestablishingaSino-AmericanledNuclearArmsLimitationTreatythatalsoaddressesmutualsecurityconcerns.RReeffeerreenncceessArms Control Association, ‘Nuclear Weapons: Who has what at a glance’, posted23/06/2014,revised13/10/2015Cura Saunders, Emily, Ariana Rowberry, and Bryan L. Fearey, ‘Obstacles andOpportunities for a Tactical NuclearWeapons Treaty between Russia and the UnitedStates’,ContemporarySecurityPolicy,Vol.35,No.1,(2014)Gibbons-Neffs, Thomas, ‘Chinese Ballistic Missiles Dubbed ‘Guam Killer’ PowerIncreasingThreattoUSIslandReportSays’,TheWashingtonPost,11May,2016Horsburugh,ChinaandGlobalNuclearOrder:FromEstrangementtoActiveEngagement,Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2015Kirstensen, Hans, andNorris, Robert, ‘NonstrategicNuclearWeapons’, Bulletin of theAtomicScientists,Vol.68,No.5(2012)


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Lamothe, Dan, ‘Pentagon chief postpones visit to China as Tensions Simmer in SouthChinaSea’,TheWashingtonPost,8April,2016Lamothe,Dan,‘ThesearethebasestheUSwilluseneartheSouthChinaSea.Chinaisn’timpressed’,TheWashingtonPost,21March,2016Lewis, Jeffrey G., ‘Chinese Nuclear Posture and Force Modernization’, The Non-proliferationReview,Vol.16,No.2(2009)Nakamura,David,andLamothe,Dan,‘ChinaTestingObamaasitexpandsitsinfluenceinSoutheastAsia’,TheWashingtonPower,1March2016Shen, Dingli, ‘China’s Nuclear Perspective: Deterrence Reduction Nuclear Non-Proliferation,Disarmament’,StrategicAnalysis,Vol.32,No.4(2008)UnitedStatesofAmericaOfficeoftheSecretaryofDefence,AnnualReporttoCongress:Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China, UnitedStatesofAmerica:DepartmentofDefence,2015Xinhua,‘CommentaryWhoisthetroublemakerintheSouthChinaSea?’,XinhuanetNews,11March2016Zhang, Baohui, China’s Assertive Nuclear Posture: State Security in an AnarchicInternationalOrder,Oxon:Routledge,2015

Section III: Creative Writing

Evening Air ByNicholasAntoniak

Eveningairsettlesthinonthequietersideofasecondhand’sflirtationwiththree.Eyes,choosingtoabandondreams,areleftaloneonmattressesdressedonlyinsinglewhitesheets.Inthenight,thewindowsillof412framesafaceandtitlesit‘Perplexed’.Lookatitsgaze.Howitmovesbetweentheswingsetanditsrustsoakedskin.Theradiotowerresting on the pinnacle of the towns stone and dirt, and the light emanating frombuildingsnotyetsuccumbedtosleep.Theraysmakethepavementglowanearlyshadeofdawn.Theface,belongingtoSimonJamesKingston,producedjointlybyAmeliaThorneKingston and (the late) Robert Dave Kingston lowers the corner of its lips a barelydiscernibleamount.Foramoment,you’dthinkitwasabouttocry.

Helentdown,armsencasingawiryframe.Feltasthoughagripanytightermighthaveshatteredherbrittlebonessohewastender,andthoughitwashishandsthatrestedonaspinecoveredbynothingmorethanskin,hediditmostlytocomforthimself.Pasttheopaquewindowandmurkyblindspulledtightlyshut, theworldhadalmost fallenstill.Brittlewinds,theonlythingsthatmoved,rushingthroughalleyways,touchingupontherustedlidsofoldgarbagecansbeforecontinuingintoanightthatseemedheldbynothingmorethanthetonesofgrey,whichcoloureditsskies.Slowly,hebegantosaygoodbye.

In October, dull light broke beneath the doorway fracturing listless sleep. Themonthshadpassed inheavy,quickstridesandSimon Jameshadnotgonewith them.Dishesstackedthemselvesprecariouslyincrookedpilesamongst loosechange,emptypill packets, and the card his Mother sent last Christmas reaffirming her seeminglyunconditionalloveandbelief.Theyearhadgone.Lostitselfwithinthedullhumofthetelevisionscreenandmovementspale,slowanddead.Theonlythinghehaddoneofnote


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inallthistimewasbearwitnesstoameteorshowerfromtheEast.Wrappedhimselfincottonblanketsasthefading,brightlightsfellfromtheskyabove.

On the counter Simon placed his wristwatch, identification, and an apologyscrawled on paper ripped from the confines of an exercise book, stained with theremnantsofdayoldcoffee.Heventuredoutside,downtheconcretestepsandontothelawn. Standing there, he could’ve sworn he heard it. Through the earth. Through thegumtreesstationedonsunburnthills.Thefreshlycutsuburbanlawns,rowsofperfectlytrimmedhedges,TVdinnersonFridaynights,andfamiliesarguingbehindcloseddoors.Everythingthathadbeenleftbehindonthenightswhentheraucousnoisesinsidehisheadhadstoppedhimfromseeingthem.Theysang.

A woman passed your house later that evening, stopping to appreciate yourneighboursPetuniasonherwayhomefromwork.Shehadalwaysadmiredtheirdeepshadeofpurple.Glancingup,shenoticedthestillnessofyourfourwalls.Shruggeditoffasnothing.Didn’tknow.Couldn’thave.Shehadn’tseenyoupackbelongingsintoabag.Thewayyourlefthandtwitchedapprehensivelyasyouturnedthekey.Thefinallookyouhadtaken,tosaygoodbye,andthewayafacepressedagainstthecoldglassofatrainleavingforthefurtheststationonthemap.

Radiance: A Review ByMatthewClifford

In1991,whenRhodaRoberts andLydiaMillerwent looking for aplaywright tohelpredefinetheroleofAboriginalwomenintheatre,theysoughtoutthewell-renownednon-indigenous playwright Louis Nowra. They asked for a theatrical effort that wouldshowcasetheemotionalandintellectualdepthofAboriginalwomenandstandinstarkcontrast from the racial profilingofAboriginals in theatre asdrunkardsor victimsofabuse.Now,almost25yearslater,LeahPurcell’srevivalofBelvoir’soriginalRadianceisan elegant,moving, and striking effort that unites by not just showcasing Indigenousissues,butbyexposingthepainandstrugglesofthehumanexperience;inparticularthewaywedealwiththeghostsfromourpast.

Throughthestoryofthreedistanthalf-sistersreturningtotheirfamilyhomefortheir mother’s funeral, the play explores the effect of a fraught upbringing on one’sidentity.Mae(ShariSebbens) isa sullen figureblindedby resentmentand insecurity,whoseangerstemsfrombeingleftalonetotendtoherdifficultanddyingmother.Cressy(Leah Purcell) is a successful Opera singer who has moved to London as a copingmechanism,whilstNona(MirandaTapsell)isaquixotic,sexualisedandinsouciantspiritwhoappearsapathetictotheopinionsofothers.Thesister’sonlybondisthedarkwraithoftheirchildhood,andNowra’semphasisonthesecontrastingcharacterisationsisthedrivingforcebehindthetensionintheplay,highlightedbeautifullybyPurcell’sdirectionofheractors.

Purcell cleverly emphasises the character’s reliance on their imaginations toreconstructtheirchildhoodidentities,suggestingthatallthatthesesisterscanhelplesslyclaspontoforanyessenceoffamilyarelies,unsubstantiatedhopes,andwhitewashedmemories. But it is when the sisters seek a fiery reprisal for their broken past thatPurcell’s production gains true power and might. Truths are exposed and Purcelldemonstratesthattherevealingofsecretsandtheresultantacceptanceistheonlywaythatthedisconnectedsisterscanenteradulthood,andrekindletheonlyfamilytheyhaveleft;eachother.


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Purcellhighlights thedisjointed livesof thesistersbyplacing themapart, rarelytouchingorsharingthesamepartofthestage.WhenCressyrevealshertruerelationshipwithherfather,peeringoutacrossthemudflats,forciblyfixatedonthebillowingwindandwaves,shestandsalone,notdaringtoturnbackandfacehersiblings.TowardtheendoftheplayPurcellcleverlysubvertstheseearlydirectorialchoices.Thesistersstandasone,theflamesoftheirchildhoodhomeilluminatingtheirfacesastheyputthepastbehind them; Purcell’s final image suggesting that familial connections are the truepathwaytoforgiveness.

Purcell is blessed to have some of Australia’s most promising young actors onboard.TapsellbrilliantlycapturestheyouthfulenergythatdefinesthecharacterofNona.Sebben’s bottled resentment for her siblings in the first act is highly confronting andmoving,despiteherreinventionforthesecondactnotbeingquitesufficienttoovercomehercharacter’spreviousindignationandtofullyembracePurcell’svisionofforgivenessandreconciliation.Iftherewasonequibble,however,Purcell’sroleasbothadirectorandactorhasmadeherperformanceself-consciousandsometimesone-dimensional.WhilstSebbensandTapsellbecometruly lost in theirroles,wenever forget thatPurcell, thedirector,ishidingbehindthefaceofMaethroughouttheproduction.

DaleFerguson’ssetdesignforRadianceisbraveandultimatelysuccessful.NowrashowshisinterestinthenaturalworldastheholderandreleaserofsufferingthroughthesymbolicallypowerfulsettingoftheQueenslandmudflatsthatbringsthesistersbacktotheirchildhoodmilieu.Fergusonseparatesthestageintotwohalveswithoneforeachact,withthebackhalfdominatedbythesplintered,woodenverandahofafamilyhome,whilstthefrontofthestageiscraftedbeautifullyasthecold,shallowrockpoolsoftheQueenslandmudflats.Thedistancebetweentheaudienceandtheactorsinthefirstactservestoremindtheaudienceoftheignoranceanddesensitisationwehavetowardsthepainandlivelihoodofothers.Fergusonbreaksdownthisdistancebarrierinthesecondact, allowing the characters to spill onto the rock pools, creating a more intimateatmosphereastheplaydramaticallyunfolds.

Ferguson’scostumedesignisrelativelysimplebutappropriatelyso.WhilstMae’sconservatismisrepresentedthroughherlonger,moretraditionaldress,Nona’sidealismandyouthisconveyedthroughhermoreprovocativeoutfits.DamienCooper’slighting

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design stylishly captures the transition between night and day, mimicking the sun’smovementandbolsteringtheproduction’scloserelationshipwiththenaturalworld,andproviding symbolic depth to the production by following the sister’s journey fromemotionaldarknesstoasenseoflightandrenewedhope.

ItishardtoimaginethatNowra’soriginalcouldhavehadmoredepthandpainthanisuncoveredinthisproduction.Throughtheemotionalordeals,hurts,adversitiesandsurprisinghumourof thesewomen, the audience feels the complexity, substance anddepthweallsharewiththem.Fromtheoutset,thisproductionwasnevermeanttobeinherentlyIndigenous,andspeakstomanyculturesandbackgrounds.Itinstillsasenseofinvigorationaboutthehumanexperienceandshowstheunstoppablepowersofthosewhowishtoovercome,placetheirpastsbehindthem,andrisetobecomegreater.ItisinthiswaythatRadianceemitsitstruelight.

Section IV: Visual Arts

2200MMiinnuutteessFFaacceess

ByKateGarrow

ColouredPencilonPaper;35x45cm2016

FFaaddiinnggiinnttootthheeNNiigghhtt((II--XXVVIIII))

ByHannahMerchant

Charcoal and Collage; series 225 x 100cm installed. 2015


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HannahMerchant|FadingintotheNight

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CChhaannggee((II--IIVV))

bySebastianvanLieven

Graphite and Watercolour on paper; 42 x 60cm 2015


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SebastianvanLieven|Change

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EEyyeessWWiiddeeSShhuutt((II--IIII))

byCharlotteWong

Pencil on paper; 21 x 30cm 2016


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