Every now and again, the routines of political life are interrupted by events that change, or have the potential to change, the existing order. The meaning of those events and explanations of their consequences will shape the subsequent years. The themed papers in this issue of Social Alternatives examine a series of such events in the political life of the AUKUS partners, Australia, the United Kingdom and the USA. The events and their results will reverberate throughout these countries and the wider international arena whether or not they develop in ways that were initially anticipated.