Australia's security since the end of WW2 has been underpinned by the alliance with the US.  By the end of the Cold War the US was a hyperpower, presiding over a world where rules based order, economic globalisation, and democracy were widely held norms.  "That America and that world", writes Hugh White, "is gone forever".

Even if Joe Biden is fully committed to restoring US hegemony in the Indo-Pacific, his immediate attention will likely be focussed on healing a divided country and containing Covid-19.  He may also face an uncooperative and activist Senate bent on following the isolationist tendencies of President Trump.

As a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and a former Minister of Defence, Professor Stephen Smith is uniquely placed to understand what a Biden administration may mean for the Australia-US Alliance and the Indo Pacific.