ABSTRACT
Alliance relations are played out over an array of tracks and through a multiplicity of sectors. In various sectors, the US relationship has been used by the Australian government to mediate between threats from above and below. My concern in this chapter is to examine one of these sectors: that of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. For the Howard government, like its immediate predecessors, this was a sector that, if managed well, could not only assist in delivering the health needs of the population but also add much to the health of the Australian economy. Previous ALP governments’ international economic diplomacy and ‘clever country’ agenda was a recognition, too, of the need to reposition Australia in the international system and allay threats in the international environment.
