ABSTRACT
This chapter is primarily concerned with the ways in which the ANZUS treaty has evolved in practice over the fifty-plus years of its history, together with the implications of that evolution for both partners. It claims that Australia's armed forces have, over the decades, achieved a working relationship with the United States (US) military largely despite, rather than because of, any actual or perceived affinity of a social or 'national character' kind. The chapter provides a history of change in the nature and meaning of the ANZUS relationship over half a century of enormous transformation within the global strategic balance, and in Australia's regional relationships and security challenges. It addresses the realities of popular perceptions of the alliance on both sides of the Pacific, and then looks at the relationship from the standpoint of the politician, the diplomat and the military commander.
