Hard New World by Hugh White

What is Australia’s place in the new global landscape?

Are we ready for our post-American future? In an era of rising danger for all, and dramatic choices for Australia, Hugh White explores how the world is changing and Australia should respond.

Under Donald Trump, America’s retreat from global leadership has been swift and erratic. China, Russia and India are on the move. White explains the big strategic trends driving the war in Ukraine, and why America has ‘lost’ Asia. He discusses Albanese Labor’s record and why complacency about the American alliance – including AUKUS – is no longer an option. This brilliant short book urges us to navigate a hard new world with realism and confidence.

This is a thoroughly updated and significantly expanded edition of the bestselling Quarterly Essay.

About the Author: Hugh White is the author of The China Choice and How To Defend Australia, and the acclaimed Quarterly Essays Power Shift, Without America and Sleepwalk to War. He is emeritus professor of strategic studies at ANU and was the principal author of Australia’s Defence White Paper 2000.

24 Aug 2026
 

Hard New World: Australia’s Post-American Future by Hugh White ISBN 9781760646226