Survivalist anxieties: Australian responses to Asia, 1890s to the present

From the 1880s there has been speculation about Australia\u27s Asian futures. The contexts in which Asia has been invoked and the constructions of both a \u27generic Asia\u27 and specific countries in the region have played a critical role in defining the limits and possibilities of Australian nationhood. While there has been a persistent anxiety about Australia\u27s vulnerability to Asia (our empty north, our unguarded coastline) there have long been advocates of closer engagement with the region.