Commissioned by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the prestigious Documents on Australian Foreign Policy series, this is a comprehensive survey of Australia’s foreign and trade policy from 1931–1936. This volume in the prestigious Documents on Australian Foreign Policy series—Australia and the World, 1931-36—offers a selection of documents illustrating the framing and execution of Australian foreign and trade policy between the years 1931 and 1936. This was a period of twin global crises. The relative economic stability of the 1920s was undermined by the depression initiated by the Wall Street financial crash of 1929. The international order framed by the Versailles settlement began to unravel with the rise of authoritarian regimes, and the League of Nations proved unequal in the struggle to contain aggression, first in East Asia—following the ‘Manchurian incident’ of 1931—and then in Ethiopia and Europe. This volume follows on from the Australia and the World, 1920–1930, published in 2019.

James Cotton has held academic positions in Western Australia, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Singapore, the Australian National University, and Tasmania (head of Politics School, 1993–1997); he is a former head of the School of Politics, University of NSW, ADFA. In 2001, he was Centennial Professor in International Relations and in the Asia Research Centre, London School of Economics, and in 2004 and 2007 he was Visiting Professor, Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Hong Kong. In 2013, he was Harold White Fellow, National Library of Australia.

Foreword Introduction Part 1 Manchuria, China and the League Documents, 22 September 1931—7 November 1935 Part 2 Trade and finance: Ottawa and after Documents, 23 December 1931—11 November 1937 Part 3 Australia in the League of Nations Documents, 14 August 1931—17 June 1937 Part 4 Australia and the Asia Pacific Documents, August 1932—27 January 1937 Part 5 The Defence of Australia and the Singapore Base Documents, 12 July 1929—26 January 1937 Part 6 Challenges to global order Documents, 29 June 1929—30 January 1937 Part 7 Ethiopia and sanctions on Italy, League of Nations reform, the Monarchy Documents, 25 July 1935—15 November 1936 Part 8 Building the Departments: External Affairs, Trade Commissioners Documents, March 1930—7 December 1936