Associate Professor David Lee
Associate Professor

Associate Professor David Lee

UNSW Canberra
School of Humanities & Social Sciences

 
Dr David Lee is an Associate Professor who joined the University of New South Wales in 2019 and before that was based in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for twenty-four years. He has published widely on Australian history including Australia during the Cold War. His most recent books are Australia and the World: International Relations and Global Events since Federation (Melbourne: Circa, 2022)  and John Curtin (Redland Bay: Connor Court, 2022). He is also author of The Second Rush: Mining and the Transformation of Australia (Redland Bay: Connor Court, 2016) and Stanley Melbourne Bruce: Australian Internationalist (London and New York: Bloomsbury, 2010). He teaches courses on World Economic History and the Cold War, is Chair of the Commonwealth Working Party of the Australian Dictionary of Biography and has been appointed National Archives of Australia, Cabinet historian, 2022-23. 
Phone
+61 2 5114 5068
  • Books | 2022
    2022, Australia and the World: International Relations and Global Events since Federation, Melbourne Publishing Group, Melbourne, https://melbourne-publishing.myshopify.com/
    Books | 2020
    2020, Stanley Melbourne Bruce: Institution Builder, Connor Court, Redland Bay, https://www.connorcourtpublishing.com.au/Stanley-Melbourne-Bruce-Institution-Builder--David-Lee_p_395.html
    Books | 2016
    2016, The Second Rush Mining and the Transformation of Australia, Connor Court Publishing Pty Limited
    Books | 2010
    2010, Stanley Melbourne Bruce Australian Internationalist, Bloomsbury Publishing
    Books | 2008
    2008, Every Assistance and Protection A History of the Australian Passport
    Books | 2008
    2008, Great White Fleet to Coral Sea Naval Strategy and the Development of Australian-United States Relations, 1900-1945
    Books | 2006
    2006, The Struggle for Trade Liberalisation in Agriculture Australia and the Cairns Group in the Uruguay Round
    Books | 2005
    2005, Australia and the World in the Twentieth Century
    Books | 1995
    1995, Search for Security The Political Economy of Australia's Postwar Foreign and Defence Policy, Allen & Unwin Australia
  • Book Chapters | 2023
    2023, 'Ambassadors and Key Issues', in Lowe D; Darian-Smith K (ed.), The Australian Embassy in Tokyo and Australia-Japan Relations, ANU Press, Canberra, pp. 41 - 76, http://dx.doi.org/10.22459/AETAJR.2022
    Book Chapters | 2023
    2023, 'Australia's Window to China in the Cold War: the Trade Commission in Hong Kong', in Onslow S; Maguire L (ed.), Consuls in the Cold War, Brill, Leiden, pp. 212 - 237, https://brill.com/display/title/64725
    Book Chapters | 2023
    2023, 'Royal Commissions of the Bruce-Page Government, 1923-29', in Prasser S (ed.), New Directions in Royal Commissions & Public Inquiries: Do We Need Them?, Redland Bay, pp. 27 - 50, https://www.connorcourtpublishing.com.au/NEW-DIRECTIONS-IN-ROYAL-COMMISSIONS-PUBLIC-INQUIRIES-Do-we-need-them-Edited-by-Scott-Prasser_p_520.html
    Book Chapters | 2023
    2023, 'Sir John Crawford and Japan, 1953-77', in Lowe D; Darian-Smith K (ed.), The Australian Embassy in Tokyo and Australia-Japan Relations, ANU Press, Canberra, pp. 97 - 120, http://dx.doi.org/10.22459/AETAJR.2022
    Book Chapters | 2022
    2022, 'Mediating Middle Powers: Shaw, Grant, Curtis and Upton, 1972-83', in Lowe D; Meadows E (ed.), Rising Power and Changing People The Australian High Commission in India, ANU Press, Canberra, pp. 137 - 151, http://dx.doi.org/10.22459/RPCP.2022
    Book Chapters | 2022
    2022, 'Minerals and Resources Policy', in Prasser S; Clune D (ed.), The Whitlam Era: A Reappraisal of Government, Politics and Policy, Connor Court, Redland Bay, pp. 276 - 294
    Book Chapters | 2022
    2022, 'S.M. Bruce and R.G. Menzies Compared', in Ergas H; Pincus J (ed.), Power Politics and Parliament: Essays in Honour of John R. Nethercote, Connor Court Publishing, Redland Bay, pp. 317 - 325, https://www.connorcourtpublishing.com.au/POWER-POLITICS-AND-PARLIAMENT-Essays-in-Honour-of-John-R-Nethercote_p_512.html
    Book Chapters | 2019
    2019, 'Ryan, Edward John (Ted) (1916-1995)', in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ryan-edward-john-ted-27551/text34954
    Book Chapters | 2018
    2018, 'Sir John Latham and the League of Nations', in League of Nations : Histories, Legacies and Impact, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, pp. 83 - 99
    Book Chapters | 2018
    2018, 'The Fraser Government, 1975-1983: Andrew Peacock and Tony Street', in Conley Tyler M; Robbins J (ed.), Ministers for Foreign Affairs 1972-83, Australian Institute of International Affairs, pp. 25 - 48, http://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ministers-for-Foreign-Affairs-1972-83.pdf
    Book Chapters | 2017
    2017, 'Buying Back the Farm: the Whitlam Government and the Australianisation of mining', in Making Modern Australia: the Whitlam Government's 21st Century Agenda, Monash University Publishing, Melbourne
    Book Chapters | 2016
    2016, 'Australia's ambassadors in Washington, 1982-1989', in Lee D; Lowe D; Bridge C (ed.), Australia Goes to Washington: 75 Years of Australian Representation in the United States, 1940-2015, ANU Press, Canberra, pp. 183 - 207, http://dx.doi.org/10.22459/AGTW.12.2016
    Book Chapters | 2016
    2016, 'Conclusion', in Lee D; Lowe D; Bridge C (ed.), Australia Goes to Washington: 75 Years of Australian Representation in the United States, 1940-2015, ANU Press, Canberra, pp. 255 - 260, http://dx.doi.org/10.22459/AGTW.12.2016
    Book Chapters | 2016
    2016, 'The Career Diplomats: Sir Patrick Shaw, Alan Renouf and Sir Nicholas Parkinson, 1974-82', in Lowe D; Bridge C (ed.), Australia Goes to Washington: 75 Years of Australian Representation in the United States, 1940-2015, ANU Press, Canberra, pp. 161 - 181, http://dx.doi.org/10.22459/AGTW.12.2016
    Book Chapters | 2015
    2015, 'Sir John Crawford: Agriculture and Trade', in The Seven Dwarfs in the Age of the Mandarins, ANU Press, Canberra, http://dx.doi.org/10.22459/SDAM.07.2015
    Book Chapters | 2013
    2013, 'Australia and the Security Council', in Cotton J; Lee D (ed.), Australia and the United Nations, Longueville Books, pp. 66 - 104
    Book Chapters | 2011
    2011, 'Australia and Europe', in Middle Power Dreaming: Australia in World Affairs, 2006-2010, Oxford University Press, Oxford
    Book Chapters | 2011
    2011, 'Historical Survey of Southeast Asian Borders', in The Borderlands of Southeast Asia: Geopolitics, Terrorism and Globalization, National Defense University Press, Washington, pp. 59 - 88
    Book Chapters | 2008
    2008, 'Dealing with Dragons', in Gare D; Ritter D (ed.), Making Australian History: Perspectives on the Past Since 1788, Thomson, South Melbourne
    Book Chapters | 2008
    2008, 'Stanley Bruce at the Wartime High Commission in London', in Diplomats at War: British and Commonwealth Diplomacy in Wartime, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, pp. 149 - 171
    Book Chapters | 2007
    2007, 'The Establishment of Diplomatic Relations', in Reid R; Mongan C; Brownrigg J (ed.), Echoes of Irish Australia: rebellion to republic: a collection of essays, St Clements Retreat and Conference Centre, Galong, pp. 222 - 232
    Book Chapters | 2002
    2002, 'Shaw, Sir Patrick (1913-1975)', in Ritchie J; Langmore D (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography Volume 16 1940-1980, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, pp. 220 - 221
    Book Chapters | 2001
    2001, 'Indonesia's Independence', in Goldsworthy D (ed.), Facing North. A Century of Australian Engagement with Asia Volume 1 1901 to the 1970s, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, pp. 134 - 170
    Book Chapters | 2001
    2001, 'Southeast Asian Conflicts', in Goldsworthy D (ed.), Facing North: 1901 to the 1970s, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, pp. 262 - 309
    Book Chapters | 2000
    2000, 'Lawson, John Norman (1897-1956)', in Ritchie J (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography Volume 15 1940-1980, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, pp. 66 - 67
    Book Chapters | 2000
    2000, 'McCall, William Victor ((1908-1968)', in Ritchie J (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography Volume 15 1940-1980, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, pp. 162 - 163
    Book Chapters | 1997
    1997, 'Defence Policy, 1945-1994: An Historical Perspective', in Malik M (ed.), Australia's Security in the 21st Century, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, pp. 8 - 31
    Book Chapters | 1997
    1997, 'The Origins of the Menzies Government's Policy on Indonesia's Confrontation of Malaysia', in Cain F (ed.), Menzies in War and Peace, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, pp. 72 - 99
    Book Chapters | 1996
    1996, 'Australia, the Great Powers and the Decolonisation of Laos', in Australia and the end of empires : the impact of decolonisation in Australia's near north, 1945-65, Deakin University Press, Geelong, pp. 173 - 187
    Book Chapters | 1995
    1995, 'The Cabinet', in Warhurst J; Prasser S; Nethercote J (ed.), The Menzies Era: A Reappraisal of Government Politics and Policy, Halw & Iremonger, Sydney, pp. 123 - 137
    Book Chapters | 1993
    1993, 'Ashley, William Patrick ((1881-1958)', in Ritchie J (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography Volume 13 1940-1980, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, pp. 79 - 80
    Book Chapters | 1993
    1993, 'Cotton, Thomas Richard Worgan (1907-1970)', in Ritchie J (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography: 1940-1980, A-De, Melbourne University
  • Edited Books | 2016
    2016, Australia goes to Washington 75 years of Australian representation in the United States, 1940–2015, ANU Press
    Edited Books | 2013
    Lee D; Reynolds W, (ed.), 2013, Australia and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, 1945-1974, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Canberra, ttps://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/historical-documents/Pages/volume-28/volume-28-australia-and-the-nuclear-non-proliferation-treaty-1945-1974.aspx
    Edited Books | 2012
    Cotton J; Lee D, (ed.), 2012, Australia and the United Nations, Longueville Books & Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Sydney
    Edited Books | 2010
    Lee D; Bongiorno F; Bridge C, (eds.), 2010, The High Commissioners Australia's Representatives in the United Kingdom 1910-2010, Department of Foreign Affairs, Barton
    Edited Books | 2002
    Lee D; Doran S, (ed.), 2002, Australia and Recognition of the People's Republic of China, 1949-1972, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Canberra, https://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/historical-documents/volume-22/Pages/default.aspx
    Edited Books | 1998
    Lee D, (ed.), 1998, Australia and indonesia's Independence: the Transfer of Sovereignty, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Canberra, https://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/historical-documents/Pages/volume-15/1949-indonesia-volume-15.aspx
    Edited Books | 1997
    Lee D; Waters C, (ed.), 1997, Evatt to Evans: the Labor Tradition in Australian Foreign Policy, Allen & Unwin, Canberra
    Edited Books | 1996
    Lee D; Dorling P, (ed.), 1996, Australia & Indonesia's Independence: the Renville Agreement Documents 1948, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Canberra, https://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/historical-documents/Pages/volume-13/1948-indonesia-volume-13.aspx
  • Journal articles | 2021
    2021, 'Commonwealth Responsibility and Cold War Solidarity: Australia in Asia, 1944-1974', AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF POLITICS AND HISTORY, 67, pp. 175 - 177, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajph.12736
    Journal articles | 2021
    2021, 'Labor, the External Affairs Power and the Rights of Aborigines', Labour History: a journal of labour and social history, pp. 49 - 68, http://dx.doi.org/10.3828/jih.2021.4
    Journal articles | 2020
    2020, 'Australia's Embargo of the Export of Iron Ore: A Reconsideration', Journal of Australian Mining History, 18, pp. 96 - 112
    Journal articles | 2020
    2020, 'The Australian Delegation to the Paris Peace Conference: A Biography', Australian Journal of Biography and History
    Journal articles | 2016
    Lee D, 2016, 'Comalco's Development of Queensland Bauxite, 1955-1957', Australian Journal of Politics and History, 62, pp. 44 - 58, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajph.12207
    Journal articles | 2016
    2016, 'Jackson, Sir Ronald Gordon (1924-1991)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/jackson-sir-ronald-gordon-23122
    Journal articles | 2016
    2016, 'States rights and Australia’s adoption of the statute of Westminster, 1931–1942', History Australia, 13, pp. 258 - 274, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14490854.2016.1186001
    Journal articles | 2014
    2014, 'The development of bauxite at Gove, 1955-1975', Journal of Australasian Mining History, 12, pp. 131 - 147
    Journal articles | 2013
    Lee D, 2013, 'Reluctant relaxation', History Australia, 10, pp. 149 - 170, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14490854.2013.11668485
    Journal articles | 2012
    Lee D, 2012, 'Stanley Melbourne Bruce in London, 1938-41', JOURNAL OF IMPERIAL AND COMMONWEALTH HISTORY, 40, pp. 45 - 64, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03086534.2012.656489
    Journal articles | 2007
    2007, 'The Credentials Controversy: Australia, Ireland and the Commonwealth, 1950-65', Australasian Journal of Irish Studies, 6, pp. 57 - 82, https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=226857406682605;res=IELAPA
    Journal articles | 2005
    2005, 'The Liberals and Vietnam', Australian Journal of Politics and History, 51, pp. 429 - 439, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8497.2005.0384a.x
    Journal articles | 1995
    1995, 'AUSTRALIA AND ANGLO-AMERICAN DISAGREEMENT OVER THE QUEMOY-MATSU CRISIS, 1954-55', JOURNAL OF IMPERIAL AND COMMONWEALTH HISTORY, 23, pp. 105 - 128, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03086539508582946
    Journal articles | 1995
    1995, 'Britain and Australia's Defence Policy, 1945–1949', War & Society, 13, pp. 61 - 80, http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/072924795791200178
    Journal articles | 1994
    1994, 'THE 1949 FEDERAL-ELECTION - A REINTERPRETATION', AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, 29, pp. 501 - 519, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00323269408402309
    Journal articles | 1993
    1993, 'AUSTRALIA AND ALLIED STRATEGY IN THE FAR-EAST, 1952-1957', JOURNAL OF STRATEGIC STUDIES, 16, pp. 511 - 538, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01402399308437531
    Journal articles | 1992
    1992, 'AUSTRALIA, THE BRITISH-COMMONWEALTH, AND THE UNITED-STATES, 1950-1953', JOURNAL OF IMPERIAL AND COMMONWEALTH HISTORY, 20, pp. 445 - 469, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03086539208582880
    Journal articles | 1992
    1992, 'The National Security Planning and Defence Preparations of the Menzies Government, 1950–1953', War & Society, 10, pp. 119 - 138, http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/072924792791198913
    Journal articles | 1990
    1990, 'PROTECTING THE STERLING AREA - THE CHIFLEY GOVERNMENTS RESPONSE TO MULTILATERALISM 1945-9', AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, 25, pp. 178 - 195, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00323269008402117
  • Working Papers | 2004
    2004, Australia and the British Empire between the Wars, King's College London, London, http://dx.doi.org
  • Reports | 2023
    2023, The 2002 Cabinet Papers in Context, National Archives of Australia, Canberra ACT, https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/cabinet/latest-cabinet-release/2002-cabinet-papers-context
    Conference Papers | 2022
    2022, 'Economic Management During the Korean War', Sir Robert Menzies Institute, University of Melbourne, presented at Power, Learning to Govern and Gathering Momentum, 1943-1954, Sir Robert Menzies Institute, University of Melbourne, 16 November 2022 - 15 December 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=aSNi78cVais
    Submissions to Government | 2021
    2021, Submission Number 40 to Senate Economics References Committee, Australian Parliament, Canberra, , file:///C:/Users/z3527221/Downloads/Submission%2040%20-%20Dr%20David%20Lee.pdf
    Reports | 2019
    2019, 'Murphy's Law---the Whitlam Government's Use of the External Affairs Power and its Legacy', Whitlam Institute, Sydney, https://www.whitlam.org/publications/2018/9/24/the-whitlam-legacy-reflections?rq=David%20Lee
    Reports | 2015
    2015, Iron Country: Unlocking the Pilbara, Minerals Council of Australia, Canberra, 9, https://www.minerals.org.au/sites/default/files/180619%20Iron%20country.pdf
    Conference Papers | 1994
    1994, 'The Curtin and Chifley governments, liberal internationalism and world organisation', in Lee D; Waters C (ed.), EVATT TO EVANS, ALLEN & UNWIN AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA, AUSTR NATL UNIV, FAC ARTS, DEPT POLIT SCI, CANBERRA, pp. 48 - 61, presented at Symposium on Evatt to Evans - the Labor Tradition in Australian Foreign Policy, AUSTRALIA, AUSTR NATL UNIV, FAC ARTS, DEPT POLIT SCI, CANBERRA, https://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000074436300004&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=891bb5ab6ba270e68a29b250adbe88d1

I am researching a biography of Australian Prime Ministers JB Chifley and WM Hughes , a history of Australia's trade departments, 1942-87 and a history of Australian independence. I am also working collaboratively on a project on Sir John Crawford. Other research interests are Australia's relations with Japan and China. 

Interview, ABC RN Breakfast, 'What Lessons Can We take from the Chifley Years as We Recover from COVID-19?',  Hamish MacDonald, 2 October 2020, https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/chifley-pkg/12724696

'The Ghost of Lang Hancock', Inside Story, 19 August 2020. 

Interview with 6PR Radio 22 December 2021 on 'The Republic of Western Australia'.

ABC Radio Rear Vision, Passports, Borders and Identity, 9 February 2022.

Book, Second Rush: Mining and the Transformation of Australia, cited by Andrew Clark, 'The 1980s: When Things Actually Happened', Australian Financial Review, 28 January 2022. 

Book, Second Rush: Mining and the Transformation of Australia, cited by Andrew Clark, 'Why Australian miners 'got big or got out in the 1990s', Australian Financial Review, 25 February 2022. 

Book, Second Rush: Mining and the Transformation of Australia, cited by Andrew Clark, 'Fear and Loathing at BHP and Rio Tinto', and 'The 'China Effect': how the resources boom galvanised Australia', Australian Financial Review, 25 March 2022. 

with Frank Bongiorno, 'What if the 2022 federal election gives us a hung parliament, but those with the balance of power want Morrison gone', Conversation, 28 March 2022

Interview with Jane Richter Triple UFM Shoalhaven Community radio, 'The Australian Election', 30 March 2022.

with Frank Bongiorno, 'Could the 2022 election result in a hung parliament? History shows Australians have nothing to fear from it', Conversation, 22 April 2022. 

'What role is the media likely to play in the election?'. University of New South Wales film, 16 May 2022. https://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/what-factors-are-likely-impact-election

Interview, SBS TV News, 'The Role of Minor Parties in the Election', 16 May 2022

'Need to renew your passport? The weird history of Australian passports explains how they got so expensive', Conversation, 8 June 2022. 

Interview with ABC Radio Canberra Mornings with Adam Shirley, the Australian Passport, 8 June 2022.

Interview with ABC Radio Sydney, Mornings with James Valentine, the Australian passport, 9 June 2022. 

Interview with ABC Radio Melbourne, David Astle, the Australian passport, 13 June 2022.

Interview with ABC Radio Darwin, Lyrella Couzens, the Australian  passport, 23 June 2022. 

Interview with ABC Radio Nightlife, with Suzanne Hill, 14 July 2022 on passports. https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/nightlife/nightlife/13964390

Interview ABC Overnight Radio with Trevor Chappell, The Australian Passport, 3 October 2022.

Appointed Cabinet Historian, National Archives of Australia, 2022-23. 

Podcast on John Curtin, Robert Menzies Institute, Melbourne, 1 December 2022, Interviewer Georgina Downer, https://www.robertmenziesinstitute.org.au/afternoon-light-podcast/david-lee

Cabinet Papers of 2002 recorded broadcast by the National Archives of Australia released on 1 January 2023 

https://iview.abc.net.au/show/cabinet-papers-2002

'Tampa, Bali Bombings, Protocol: today's cabinet paper release shows what worried Australia in 2002', The Conversation, 1 January 2023 

https://theconversation.com/tampa-bali-bombings-9-11-and-the-kyoto-protocol-todays-cabinet-paper-release-shows-what-worried-australia-in-2002-195916

ABC RadioBreakfast with Josh Szeps, the 2002 Cabinet Release, 2 January 2023 https://www.abc.net.au/sydney/programs/breakfast/breakfast/14126090

Melissa Coade, 'China Secrets Still to be Released', The Mandarin, 6 January 2023 https://www.themandarin.com.au/209374-china-secrets-cabinet-records-2002/

Interview of the Wire Radio, Australia's R-Series Passport, 18 April 2023, https://www.thewire.org.au/story/australias-new-r-series-passport/

Interviewed for David Tanner and Jess Malcolm, 'Same votes but a different result', Australian, 20-21 May 223

 

 

 

My Research Supervision

Michael Smith, DPL, comparison of Defence Ministers, George Pearce and Kim Beazley. 

Andrew Maher, Strategy of Proxy Warfare

 

My Teaching

ZHSS3238 Winners and Losers in World Economic History

ZHSS2236 The Cold War