New challenges in a new Century
The September 11 attacks on the United States have led to a new series of challenges for New Zealand in world affairs
Foreign Minister Winston Peters' speech at the April 18 lanuch of 'New Zealand in World Affairs, Volume 4' at the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Victoria University, Wellington.
Sir Kenneth Keith, President of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs; Deputy Vice Chancellor David McKay; Rod Alley, Brian Lynch, invited guests.
Thank you for the invitation to launch 'New Zealand in World Affairs, Volume Four'.
This book continues a tradition of commentary on New Zealand's international relations, published by the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, and written by leading scholars in the field.
It is to the Institute's great credit that it continues to produce such valuable contributions to the evolving discourse of foreign policy.
Indeed for a relatively small and isolated nation situated on the edge of the South Pacific, New Zealand has made a rich and comprehensive contribution to world affairs.
Much of this contribution has been captured in the Institute's published work.
Volumes 1-3 covered the period 1945-1990.
Volume Four covers 1990-2005, the final years of the 20th Century and the start of the new millennium - a period that saw dramatic changes in New Zealand's political, economic and strategic circumstances.
During this period, major economic reforms and dramatic advances in information and communications technology permanently altered the way New Zealand viewed the world and the way the world viewed us.
These changes, and the speed with which they occurred, ensured that what was generally the preserve of foreign policy very quickly became part of domestic politics.
Some of us viewed the economic reforms thrust upon New Zealand with great scepticism and indeed open antagonism at some junctures.
The 1990s, like the six years preceding them, were not a pleasant time for many ordinary New Zealanders on the wrong side of the reform process.
Indeed for hundreds of thousands of ordinary New Zealanders, foreign policy, or at least its impact on our economy, was viewed from an extremely jaundiced perspective.
The consequences of an imported, ideologically driven, political blitzkrieg on everyday life meant wholesale retrenchments, lower wages, lack of job security, the gutting of our manufacturing sector, the sale of state assets - in short, the comprehensive ruin and overhauling of many of our economic certainties.
As this period progressed, so did the resilience of ordinary New Zealanders as they emerged from the economic and social upheaval some politicians had wrought upon them.
So while the names of Douglas, Richardson, Shipley and others inevitably fade from memory, the impact of their brief, but volatile, sojourn remains.
However, whatever side of politics one comes from, one would have to agree that it was unquestionably a maturing period for New Zealand. We had been exposed to the world in a way we hadn't before and we had to adapt and deal with our new reality.
As a consequence, we are now much better placed to grasp and grapple with the many challenges and opportunities that foreign policy affords. We just didn't need to hurt so many people to get there.
On the world stage, the most dramatic event of recent years was, of course, the September 11 attack against the United States, which saw the campaign against international terrorism assume centre stage in international affairs.
Robert Ayson's essay explores the challenges for New Zealand due to this shift in the global equilibrium.
The other seismic shift in the period covered by this book was the assumption of the United States as the sole world superpower.
How New Zealand engages constructively with the United States on security and economic issues is the subject of a chapter by Robert Patman and Jeremy Hall.
Our other key relationships - with Australia, the European Union, East Asia and the Pacific - are the subject of separate chapters.
The period 1990-2005 saw New Zealand take the world stage as a member of the UN Security Council in 1993 and 1994, by hosting APEC in 1999, and by providing leadership in the World Trade Organisation and the Commonwealth.
Terence O'Brien was one of our Ambassadors to the UN while we served on the Security Council, a term that saw the UN system challenged, and found wanting, by the horrors of Bosnia and Rwanda.
His chapter on New Zealand and the International System explains why effective multilateral diplomacy remains such an important plank in our foreign policy.
Don McKay, another Ambassador to the UN and currently our Permanent Representative in Geneva, looks at the same issues through the prism of our commitment to the rule of international law.
On the trade front, 1994 saw the culmination of the Uruguay Round. Chris Nixon and John Yeabsley's chapter on trade policy tracks the implementation of that Round, and the efforts of New Zealand to secure better market access and trading conditions through the Doha negotiations and WTO mechanisms.
At the same time they record our successes in enhancing bilateral trade relations including thorough Closer Economic Partnerships with Singapore and Thailand.
An issue barely touched on in previous volumes is that of the environment, climate change and sustainability.
In her chapter on Environment and Conservation, Felicity Wong shows how these have now become the compelling issues of our times, dominating international and domestic forums.
From the Earth Summit of 1992, through New Zealand's work on the Antarctica, oceans, whaling and climate, she highlights the policy-making, legislative, and diplomatic challenges posed by the new sustainability agenda.
Les Holborow sums up by concluding that New Zealand's foreign relations enter the 21st Century "in reasonable health".
Now that should be a relief to the Foreign Minister!
But the times are changing fast. It would be easy to be pessimist when you look at the some of the international challenges we are confronting today.
In the Pacific there is the fallout from the Fiji coup, and the lingering after-effects of social upheaval in the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste and Tonga. More distant is the battle for stability and security in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Middle East crisis, and the humanitarian disaster of Darfur.
Many of the challenges facing us are truly trans-national, such as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; terrorism; increasing numbers of failed or failing states; the risk of pandemics; global warming, and climate change.
What this publication demonstrates, however, is that New Zealand is better placed than many to grapple with these challenges.
We have a proud track record, and the skills of our diplomats have in the past enabled us to successfully project New Zealand's values and identity in pursuit of our national interests.
There is no reason to think we will continue to do anything less that that as we pursue a more secure and a sustainable future.
Finally, congratulations are due to Dr Rod Alley for compiling this set of instructive and thought-provoking essays, and to the authors for their insights.
And Sir Kenneth, through you, congratulations to the New Zealand Institute for International Affairs for commissioning this series of works on New Zealand and its place in the world.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters' speech at the April 18 lanuch of 'New Zealand in World Affairs, Volume 4' at the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Victoria University, Wellington.
Sir Kenneth Keith, President of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs; Deputy Vice Chancellor David McKay; Rod Alley, Brian Lynch, invited guests.
Thank you for the invitation to launch 'New Zealand in World Affairs, Volume Four'.
This book continues a tradition of commentary on New Zealand's international relations, published by the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, and written by leading scholars in the field.
It is to the Institute's great credit that it continues to produce such valuable contributions to the evolving discourse of foreign policy.
Indeed for a relatively small and isolated nation situated on the edge of the South Pacific, New Zealand has made a rich and comprehensive contribution to world affairs.
Much of this contribution has been captured in the Institute's published work.
Volumes 1-3 covered the period 1945-1990.
Volume Four covers 1990-2005, the final years of the 20th Century and the start of the new millennium - a period that saw dramatic changes in New Zealand's political, economic and strategic circumstances.
During this period, major economic reforms and dramatic advances in information and communications technology permanently altered the way New Zealand viewed the world and the way the world viewed us.
These changes, and the speed with which they occurred, ensured that what was generally the preserve of foreign policy very quickly became part of domestic politics.
Some of us viewed the economic reforms thrust upon New Zealand with great scepticism and indeed open antagonism at some junctures.
The 1990s, like the six years preceding them, were not a pleasant time for many ordinary New Zealanders on the wrong side of the reform process.
Indeed for hundreds of thousands of ordinary New Zealanders, foreign policy, or at least its impact on our economy, was viewed from an extremely jaundiced perspective.
The consequences of an imported, ideologically driven, political blitzkrieg on everyday life meant wholesale retrenchments, lower wages, lack of job security, the gutting of our manufacturing sector, the sale of state assets - in short, the comprehensive ruin and overhauling of many of our economic certainties.
As this period progressed, so did the resilience of ordinary New Zealanders as they emerged from the economic and social upheaval some politicians had wrought upon them.
So while the names of Douglas, Richardson, Shipley and others inevitably fade from memory, the impact of their brief, but volatile, sojourn remains.
However, whatever side of politics one comes from, one would have to agree that it was unquestionably a maturing period for New Zealand. We had been exposed to the world in a way we hadn't before and we had to adapt and deal with our new reality.
As a consequence, we are now much better placed to grasp and grapple with the many challenges and opportunities that foreign policy affords. We just didn't need to hurt so many people to get there.
On the world stage, the most dramatic event of recent years was, of course, the September 11 attack against the United States, which saw the campaign against international terrorism assume centre stage in international affairs.
Robert Ayson's essay explores the challenges for New Zealand due to this shift in the global equilibrium.
The other seismic shift in the period covered by this book was the assumption of the United States as the sole world superpower.
How New Zealand engages constructively with the United States on security and economic issues is the subject of a chapter by Robert Patman and Jeremy Hall.
Our other key relationships - with Australia, the European Union, East Asia and the Pacific - are the subject of separate chapters.
The period 1990-2005 saw New Zealand take the world stage as a member of the UN Security Council in 1993 and 1994, by hosting APEC in 1999, and by providing leadership in the World Trade Organisation and the Commonwealth.
Terence O'Brien was one of our Ambassadors to the UN while we served on the Security Council, a term that saw the UN system challenged, and found wanting, by the horrors of Bosnia and Rwanda.
His chapter on New Zealand and the International System explains why effective multilateral diplomacy remains such an important plank in our foreign policy.
Don McKay, another Ambassador to the UN and currently our Permanent Representative in Geneva, looks at the same issues through the prism of our commitment to the rule of international law.
On the trade front, 1994 saw the culmination of the Uruguay Round. Chris Nixon and John Yeabsley's chapter on trade policy tracks the implementation of that Round, and the efforts of New Zealand to secure better market access and trading conditions through the Doha negotiations and WTO mechanisms.
At the same time they record our successes in enhancing bilateral trade relations including thorough Closer Economic Partnerships with Singapore and Thailand.
An issue barely touched on in previous volumes is that of the environment, climate change and sustainability.
In her chapter on Environment and Conservation, Felicity Wong shows how these have now become the compelling issues of our times, dominating international and domestic forums.
From the Earth Summit of 1992, through New Zealand's work on the Antarctica, oceans, whaling and climate, she highlights the policy-making, legislative, and diplomatic challenges posed by the new sustainability agenda.
Les Holborow sums up by concluding that New Zealand's foreign relations enter the 21st Century "in reasonable health".
Now that should be a relief to the Foreign Minister!
But the times are changing fast. It would be easy to be pessimist when you look at the some of the international challenges we are confronting today.
In the Pacific there is the fallout from the Fiji coup, and the lingering after-effects of social upheaval in the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste and Tonga. More distant is the battle for stability and security in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Middle East crisis, and the humanitarian disaster of Darfur.
Many of the challenges facing us are truly trans-national, such as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; terrorism; increasing numbers of failed or failing states; the risk of pandemics; global warming, and climate change.
What this publication demonstrates, however, is that New Zealand is better placed than many to grapple with these challenges.
We have a proud track record, and the skills of our diplomats have in the past enabled us to successfully project New Zealand's values and identity in pursuit of our national interests.
There is no reason to think we will continue to do anything less that that as we pursue a more secure and a sustainable future.
Finally, congratulations are due to Dr Rod Alley for compiling this set of instructive and thought-provoking essays, and to the authors for their insights.
And Sir Kenneth, through you, congratulations to the New Zealand Institute for International Affairs for commissioning this series of works on New Zealand and its place in the world.