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December 2020
Hindsight is 2020
The many challenges of this year have prompted deep scrutiny and a renewed appreciation of Australia’s relationship with the United States. In turn, the mission of the United States Studies Centre (USSC) — simply stated as “analysis of America, insight for Australia” — has also become all the more relevant and valuable. It has been a privilege to lead a team dedicated to amplifying this message during even the toughest of times.
When the pandemic hit, the need for rigorous, evidence-based insights and analysis of the US response and its implications for Australia sent us into overdrive. As a Centre, we produced more publications in the month of April than ever before in the Centre's history. But that was just the beginning.
In June, widespread unrest in the United States after the murder of George Floyd was a further call to action for the Centre's analysts. We published our Coronavirus and protest report on the day of Floyd's murder. We were honoured to host more than 850 participants for Race relations and the making of the United States with Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway.
In the lead up to the Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) in July, we published Bolstering Resilience, its recommendations stressing joint US and Australian pandemic response in the Indo-Pacific. In Tech wars the Centre's experts examined what is at stake for Australia in US-China strategic technology competition.
While webinars were certainly not foremost in our minds when the year began, our rapid transition to online events let us host more VIPs than ever before. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, former Prime Minister John Howard, and current and former ambassadors such as Arthur Sinodinos and Joe Hockey were part of our events. Our reach into Washington has never been greater with participation from likely key players in a Biden administration such as Michele Flournoy to a bevy of American current or former officials including President Trump's former Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, President Trump's former National Security Advisors John Bolton and HR McMaster as well as former US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and former US Senator Jeff Flake. Thought leaders, journalists and analysts such as Tom Friedman, Phil Rucker, Jonathan Swan, Charlie Cook and Norm Ornstein also joined us.
The US presidential election was always going to be the pinnacle of 2020 for the Centre, but the amount of interest and engagement in the Centre's analysis is unprecedented. I started with the Centre in an intense election year, 2016. Demand for our expertise, web traffic and report downloads have run several multiples over 2016 levels. Our team has worked tirelessly all year long, often on tight deadlines to respond to breaking news and in a shifting and uncertain work environment.
Thank you for your support this past year. We head into 2021 bolstered by your interest and support. We always welcome your feedback, your questions and your suggestions.
On behalf of us all at the US Studies Centre, I wish you a peaceful holiday season, good health and a prosperous new year.
Sincerely,
Professor Simon Jackman, CEO
CENTRE NEWS
Avoiding US-style demographic stagnation
In November, the USSC released: Avoiding US-style demographic stagnation, the latest report from USSC Trade and Investment Program Director Dr Stephen Kirchner. The report shows that the United States is experiencing its weakest population growth in 100 years due to record low fertility and the Trump administration’s dramatic tightening of immigration policy, driving long-lasting economic restrictions. It warns Australia will face the same impacts unless it increases its managed isolation, quarantine capacity for international arrivals, and number of permanent migrants to counteract this trend.
This research was covered by The Australian, The Age, and AusBis TV with write ups from the author in The Conversation and The Mandarin.
Biden's appointments: Climate
The Centre will be bringing you news on key players in the Biden administration, the first instalment is Climate for change. In a signal of intending to make good on promises to act on climate change, some of his first major appointments will tackle this issue head on.
Announced:
- Special Presidential Envoy for Climate - John Kerry: Appointed to this new position signaling the importance of climate change to the Biden administration. This role will report directly to Joe Biden as part of the National Security Council.
Key vacancies:
- Secretary of Energy
- Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Names to watch:
- Gina McCarthy - former EPA administrator and president of the Natural Resources Defense Council
- Kathy Caster - Chair of the House Climate Crisis Committee
- Jennifer Granholm - former Michigan Governor
- John Holdron - long-term climate warrior
- Mary Nichols - California Air Resources Board
- Heather McTeer Toney - Regional EPA administrator
Read more HERE
Enrol now for American Studies in 2021
From President-Elect Biden's swearing-in to the transition to an America without Trump in the White House, understanding the United States will be critical to understanding all areas of public policy and cultural trends. To be at the forefront of this time of transition, students can enrol in these American Studies courses for Semester 1, 2021:
USSC Summer reading list
As we prepare for the holiday season, we are looking at what books to include in your Christmas reading list to crack open next to the fire or the pool for those of us enjoying summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Here's a list we'd recommend for insights on the United States by friends of the Centre.
- Lessons of Tragedy | Statecraft and the World Order by Hal Brands and USSC Senior Fellow Charles Edel. A look at how the ancient Greeks used a sense of tragedy to mobilise change and how American amnesia has lost this powerful catalyst. Perhaps more relevant at the end of 2020 than ever before.
- America in the World: A History of U.S. Diplomacy and Foreign Policy by Robert Zoellick. As Zoellick explained in our Enduring economic partners webinar this year, trade is a vital link between the United States and Australia and a critical part of post-Cold War diplomacy.
- Anti-Americanism and American Exceptionalism: Prejudice and Pride about the USA by Brendon O'Connor. Associate Professor O'Connor, jointly appointed with the Centre and the University of Sydney, points out the crucial distinction between criticism and prejudice. He offers precise and useful ways to counter stereotypes and falling into subconscious bias to move toward a more three-dimensional and accurate view of Australia's ally and friend.
- The Room Where it Happened: A White House Memoir by John Bolton. Just as he did in our joint webinar with the Perth USAsia Centre in September, his memoir offered an "unfiltered view of the Trump
presidency." Put it on your list to make sure you read it before President Trump vacates the White House on 20 January.
- Jim Crow Wisdom: Memory and Identity in Black America since 1940 by Jonathan Holloway. Just as he masterfully told the tale of Black history in America from 1619 influencing contemporary race relations in the United States in our webinar in June, Holloway's book balances uplifting and heroic Black American stories with injections of reality. A blending of first-person and third-person history, make sure to
read it before his newest book arrives in February.
- Pelosi by Molly Ball. In this biography, Time Political Correspondent Ball provides an up-close and personal look at an unlikely political figure - "an Italian grandmother in four-inch heels". She describes how the Speaker of the House mounted an unprecedented political comeback in the age of Trump. If you can't get enough Pelosi anecdotes, make sure to catch our webinar replay.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Webinar replays
USSC had the pleasure of welcoming President Trump's former chief of staff to a webinar event in October as well as potential key players in the incoming Biden administration. Catch up on the webinar replays through the USSC Live podcast and on YouTube to know who's who for the outgoing and incoming administrations. Here are some of the greatest hits from recent webinars:
- Thanksgiving with Ambassadors Culvahouse and Sinodinos ft. AB Culvahouse, Arthur Sinodinos and Simon Jackman
- US Politics Web Series with special guests Jeff Bleich and Chelsey Martin ft. Jeff Bleich, Chelsey Martin, Gordon Flake and Simon Jackman
- China's Belt and Road Initiative: A US-Australian assessment ft. Jonathan E Hillman, Lisa Murray and Ashley Townshend
- Red Book | Blue Book: An Australian guide to the next US administration ft. Ashley Townshend, Stephen Kirchner, Charles Edel, Gorana Grgic and Simon Jackman
- A conversation with Molly Ball, author of Pelosi and TIME magazine national political correspondent ft. Molly Ball and Charles Edel
- Managing US-China nuclear risks: A guide for Australia ft. Fiona Cunningham, Euon Graham, David Santoro and Brendan Thomas Noone
- US-China relations under a Biden administration ft Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian and John Lee
Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to the USSC YouTube channel to get notifications as soon as new videos are uploaded.
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United States Studies Centre
Institute Building H03
University of Sydney NSW 2006
