Four years separate the submission of the manuscript for this second edition from the submission of the first edition manuscript. The period since early 2003 has arguably been one of even greater controversy involving Australian foreign policy than the period between 1997 and 2003 when we were writing the first edition. The invasion of Iraq, controversies over terrorism and pre-emptive strikes, the Australian Wheat Board scandal, the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement, the Boxing Day tsunami, and the incarcerations of Schapelle Corby and David Hicks have brought Australia's foreign relations firmly into the centre of national debate and discussion. Partly due to these pressures, the structures and processes of Australian foreign policy making have evolved.

The four years since early 2003 have also changed this book's authors. Having teamed up as a former foreign policy professional and an international relations academic, the former professional has moved into the world of policy think tanks and academic debate, while the academic entered the Australian intelligence community before returning to academia. Our experiences in these different contexts have led us to believe that while there is certainly interest in dialogue between the two worlds of foreign policy – the official and the academic – the gap between them remains regrettably large.

We have been delighted by howbroadly the book has been reviewed, read and cited. We were motivated to write a second edition for reasons beyond simply the need to update facts and figures.