Geography matters. Whether countries are rich or poor or safe or vulnerable still has more to do with physical geography than we usually acknowledge. Even in age that is routinely described as “global,” international relations is still profoundly influenced by the lay of the land.
No better illustration of this can be found than in Australia’s relationship with Papua New Guinea. Not only did our nearest neighbor have the distinction of being Australia’s only colony, but even now the bilateral relationship is shaped primarily by proximity.
Why else would Australian policymakers from both major parties find themselves wrestling with how to resolve the crisis on Manus Island? Would our political elites ever have contemplated offshore processing of asylum seekers in the first place if we hadn’t happened to live on the world’s largest island?
The politics of relative geographic isolation are not unique to Australia, though. The debate about Britain’s place in Europe might not be happening at all if it weren’t for a small stretch of water between the U.K. and “the continent.”
The rest of Europe has learned from painful experience just how important it is to maintain cordial relations with neighbors who are quite literally next door.
