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How Small Nations Influence Great Powers in War

Journal Edition
DOI
10.61451/1235801
Introduction

If war comes to Australia, the decisions of greater powers will determine our fate. Australia’s grand strategy remains one of alliance with a great power democracy, in expectation that the wartime support of that nation will mitigate our various defence and economic weaknesses. Initially dependent on Britain owing to our colonial heritage, and now on America as the defender of the international order, Australia’s wartime survival has arguably always relied on the strong support of a great power. This raises difficult and troubling questions. How can we ensure our partner assists us and preserves our values and interests during and after any potential conflict? How might we influence allied decision-makers most effectively during a war? And how do we ensure our national interests are prioritised amid the many competing priorities of a great power executing its own grand strategy in conflict? History provides some potential answers to these questions through examination of a similar relationship during the last global war.

This article examines how Britain supported its European allies during the Second World War, and identifies lessons for contemporary strategists and planners.[1] These distant nations may seem of limited relevance to Australia; however, they provide the most recent examples of military alliances between smaller nations and a democratic great power in global war. While there are limits to the applicability of their experiences, they can inform Australia’s pursuit of a great power alliance in an increasingly unpredictable world. This work commences by describing the establishment of a wartime alliance between Britain and the governments of European nations driven into exile by German conquest. The nature and character of this alliance are then documented, with particular emphasis on the techniques employed by the exiles to gain influence and leverage with their British hosts. Finally, five observations that are applicable to Australia’s present position as a junior alliance partner are discussed. What emerges from the analysis is a greater understanding of the complexities of managing alliances in wartime, the many dilemmas faced by junior alliance partners, and the potential benefits and hazards of employing military and diplomatic power to achieve influence.

Endnotes

[1] Based on recent doctoral research by the author. David Cave, Honoured Partners: The British Relationship with Governments-in-Exile during the Second World War, PhD thesis, UNSW, 2024, at: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/101790 or https://doi.org/10.26190/unsworks/25494.