Alliance 21 director James Brown joined the Hon. Bob Carr and Professor Hugh White to discuss the latter’s famous Quarterly Essay Article “Power shift: Australia’s future between Washington and Beijing” five years on from its publication.

In 2010 Professor Hugh White challenged Australians when he wrote ‘Power Shift: Australia’s future between Washington and Beijing’, published in the academic journal Quarterly Essay.

White argued that in order to meet its interests in Asia Australia should persuade the US to relinquish primacy in the region. He asserted that the best outcome for stability in the Asia-Pacific would be a power-sharing agreement between these two great nations. He posited a ‘Concert of Asia’ to balance state interests and achieve shared leadership between major powers in the region.

To discuss its impact five years on, James Brown, Director of the Alliance 21 Program, joined a panel discussion held by the Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI) with Professor White, chaired by Professor the Hon. Bob Carr, former Australian Foreign Minister and Director of ACRI.