ARAS Vol.33 No.2 December 2012 3 EDITORIAL Positive Steps for the Future of African Studies in Australia Tanya Lyons Flinders University Jay Marlowe University of Auckland Anne Harris Monash University When Richard Higgott declared there were “no votes in Africa” back in the early 1980s 1 he could not have foreseen over thirty years later, the success of now former-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s policy to ‘re- engage’ the African continent. Driven by trade and security, aid, development and humanitarian assistance, and for enhanced diplomacy opportunities, and - as Lyons 2 has argued previously - for the direct strategic opportunity of gaining the support of African Nations to win Australia a seat on the United Nations Security Council. On 18 October 2012 the final votes were cast and the hard work and dedication of Australia’s diplomats had paid off. The current Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr’s jubilation managed to incorporate acknowledgement of the efforts of former Prime Minister Rudd as well as Carr’s predecessor Stephen Smith. While Carr acknowledged the long-term effort by the current labour government to win this temporary seat on the Security Council, cynics have had a lot to say about the $25 million pricetag for taxpayers. And yet whether intentional or unintentional, there have been marked positive outcomes for our African partners. As Bob Carr stated “It forced us to intensify our diplomacy with, for example, Africa.” 3 The enhanced re-engagement with the countries of Africa has also seen increased aid budgets, including importantly the number of scholarships under Ausaid’s Australia Awards for Africa scheme increase to 1000 in 1 Higgott cited in Tanya Lyons, “Australian Foreign Policy Toward Africa” in James Cotton and John Ravenhill (eds), Middle Power Dreaming, Australia and World Affairs Series 2006-2010, (Oxford University Press, December 2011), 185. 2 Tanya Lyons, 203-207 3 Tony Eastley and Lisa Millar “Australia wins seat on UN Security Council” http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-19/australia-wins-seat-on-un-security-council/43 21946, 19 October 2012 (accessed 23 October 2012).