How the Frontier Spirit and the Outback Temperament Collide in AUKUS

In his recent commentary for War on the Rocks, Security & Defence PLuS Lead at Arizona State University (ASU) Professor Ryan Shaw explores how national myths continue to shape the AUKUS partnership and why understanding those differences is crucial as the alliance enters its next phase. Shaw observes that while the Albanese–Trump meeting “reaffirmed solidarity and mateship,” the smooth optics could not disguise deeper tensions.

He argues that the contrast between the two leaders reflects more than personal style.

“They are pitch-perfect caricatures of national character… Trump, the privileged New Yorker branded as a Jacksonian champion of the people; Albanese, the public-housing technocrat who personifies Australia’s civic stoicism.”

Those distinctions, he writes, stem from the different frontier myths that shaped each nation: America’s driven by ambition and conquest, Australia’s by endurance and communal resilience, and they continue to influence how each partner views innovation, risk, and deterrence within AUKUS.

Looking ahead, Shaw stresses that the partnership’s future depends on more than meeting milestones. It requires building shared habits and a sustainable culture of collaboration. The next phase must “turn bursts of collaboration into a sustainable rhythm of trust and delivery.”

If AUKUS can achieve that, Shaw argues, it will represent more than a technological partnership, it could signal the rise of a new alliance culture fit for the Indo-Pacific century.

Read the full article: How the Frontier Spirit and the Outback Temperament Collide in AUKUS