Conceptualising Discourse an Australia-Pacific example

Earlier in 2024 I was invited to the Australian National University to give a presentation. I’d like to share the abstract here:

In the literature, significant attention has been paid to the ways in which the Pacific is conceptualised within Australian political discourse. However, little is known about how the Pacific is conceptualised in Australian political discourse during extreme events, such as disasters resulting from tropical cyclones, earthquakes, and tsunamis. Based on an analysis of Australian political discourse, this paper reveals that the Australian Government has drawn upon three enduring frames of vulnerability, the region of primary strategic concern, and special responsibility to conceptualise the Pacific during disasters; and that the discourse has also featured more diverse conceptions, including friendship, family, and shared history. This research provides valuable insight into the shared meanings between Australia and the Pacific that are constructed during extreme events such as disasters, the points where Australia and Pacific conceptualisations diverge, and the implications of these differences for Australia-Pacific relations.