Once upon a time, Australia knew who it was. A plucky, sunburnt frontier of sheep, surfboards, and mild xenophobia – where the Prime Minister could wrestle a crocodile, down a pint, and still sign a trade deal before lunch. These days, the national brand is more confused. Are we a repentant colonial outpost, clutching Uluru Statements like rosary beads? Are we an Asia-Pacific ‘partner’, nervously trying to befriend Beijing while borrowing submarines from Washington? Or are we just America’s beach house – cleaned up for the summer, weaponised for the winter, and largely irrelevant in between?

Whatever it is, Australia is...