ABSTRACT
Australia has had a long history of engagement with refugees, and a range of diplomatic challenges have flowed from it. This chapter examines Australian experience as a case study of how diplomacy with respect to refugees could become deeply entangled in the domestic politics of states, explores the ways in which considerations of domestic politics have come increasingly to shape Australia’s international engagements. The vast majority of refugees approaching Australia by boat have done so from Indonesia, where a diverse range of people smuggling networks have been active. With the advent of the Abbott government in 2013, Australia embarked on an aggressive campaign of using the Royal Australian Navy to force boats carrying asylum seekers back to Indonesia. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the consequences of Australia’s treatment of refugees for its public diplomacy and reputation.
