III. Risks of Reaction: Australia’s Experience with Aggregation

Abstract

Chapter II illustrated the varied risks that overseas political activities of the CCP and its supporters have presented to liberal democracies, particularly those with multicultural societies. These can be understood as the risks of inaction. But the risks of responding to these challenges also demand careful consideration. Australia offers an example of public policy responses based on the aggregation approach that addresses this array of issues primarily as a matter of national security. This may have helped to mobilise rapid legislative action and rally other liberal democracies to action. However, as this chapter argues, Australia’s experience also illustrates major drawbacks to the aggregation-based approach. Canberra’s efforts to counter PRC political activities have been hailed – and promoted – internationally as a pioneering model to follow. In February 2018, then US Assistant Secretary of Defense Randy Schriver said Australia had ‘done us a great service by publicising much of this activity and then taking action’. National Endowment for Democracy Vice President Christopher Walker testified to a US Congressional hearing that European states should ‘learn from countries, such as Australia, that