The southern North faces the northern South

The Rise of China and the Implications for Australian Security

Abstract

Australia is almost unique in international politics as it remains a Global North state geographically isolated in the south of the globe. Its northern borders fringed with states of the South, Australia has long looked to allies in its security seeking policies and in the formation of its alliances. Australia, however, is facing a choice. By using the power cycle methodology to forecast the future of global great power politics it is shown that the Global Southís China is rising in power and will soon overtake the US as the dominant global power. This article introduces the power cycle method, extrapolates forecasts from collected sampling and suggests implications for Australia of an international environment where its principal ally (the US) is no longer the predominant power.