Allan Behm joins Mark Kenny to discuss the complexities (and oddities) of the US-Australia relationship.  What do the US and Australia have in common? How has Australia’s fear of abandonment influenced diplomatic relations with the US? And how should Australia project confidence and advocate for shared interests?    On this episode of Democracy Sausage, international relations expert Allan Behm joins Professor Mark Kenny to discuss the US-Australia relationship.    This episode was recorded as part of the ANU/Canberra Times Meet the Author series.   Allan Behm is the Director of the International & Security Affairs Program at The Australia Institute. Previously, he was Chief of Staff to Minister for Climate Change and Industry, Greg Combet (2009 to 2013), and senior advisor to the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Penny Wong (2017-19). His most recent book is The Odd Couple: The Australia-America Relationship.    Mark Kenny is the Director of the ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the University after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times.    Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Google Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to [email protected].    This podcast is produced by The Australian National University.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.