Servitor Imperialism.
Although the golden age of imperialism is long past, the early 21st century has seen a resurgence or perhaps a new form of imperialism in the guise of US-led expeditionary wars to “bring democracy” to...
View ArticleBlog Link: On Iran, New Zealand’s Silence Speaks of a Subtle Shift.
The latest Word from Afar column over at Scoop speculates on New Zealand’s seemingly odd silence on the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
View ArticleMissile Envy (with postscript).
So let’s get this straight: North Korea attempts to launch a ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and the international community goes ballistic, claiming it is a serious provocation...
View ArticleLeaving Bamiyan.
It looks like the NZDF will pull out of Afghanistan next year, one year earlier than originally planned. According to the government the situation is so good in Bamiyan Province that responsibility for...
View ArticleBlog Link: New Zealand’s Security Council Bid.
New Zealand has received tacit US endorsement of its bid for a non-permanent member seat on the UN Security Council in 2015-16. That may not be an entirely good thing, especially given the mix of...
View ArticleAssad Channels Videla.
Bashar Assad has likened the civil war in Syria to a surgeon performing messy emergency surgery. Much blood is spilled but it is in the best interest of the patient’s survival that it do so. In this...
View ArticleBlog Link: Conceptualizing Foreign Aid as an Instrument of Policy.
Developmental aid is a major component of foreign policy and international relations in the South Pacific. As such, its purpose and effects are much debated. Taking as a starting point the recent visit...
View ArticlePartners not Allies: New Zealand and the US sign the Washington Declaration.
On June 20 New Zealand Defense Minister Jonathan Coleman and US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta signed the Washington Declaration, which specifies priority areas of cooperation between the militaries...
View ArticleManaging Policy Fade.
A conversation with Lew and Selwyn Manning prompted this rumination. It is not meant as a comprehensive organizational analysis but instead as food for thought, using the case of the UN and Fiji after...
View ArticleBlog Link: Deconstructing New Zealand Foreign Policy.
A recent canvass of members of the diplomatic community resident in Wellington had as a common theme the apparent incoherence of contemporary New Zealand foreign policy. That prompted me to attempt to...
View ArticleBlog Link: Australia as a different type of BRIC.
In spite of some serious dysfunctionalities in its party politics and potential problems with its economic growth model (heavily dependent on mineral exports), Australia is well on its way to becoming...
View ArticleRudimentary rights-based analysis of the Assange affair
It looks like the British government is going to consider storming the Ecuadorean embassy in London to arrest Julian Assange and extradite him to Sweden to face sexual assault charges allegations....
View ArticleBlog Link: A Romney Foreign Policy and the South Pacific.
For those interested in US domestic politics and the potential impact of a Romney presidency on US foreign policy with a South Pacific angle, my thoughts on the subject are gathered here.
View ArticleDrones in our future.
Although I have no technical expertise in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), I have discussed in various fora the military, intelligence, domestic security and political implications of...
View ArticleBlog Link: Australian-Indian Strategic Cooperation in the 21st Century.
Australia and India are emerging great powers that are the core of the Indo-Pacific strategic architecture, yet they do not have as strong bilateral ties as history, culture, politics, common threats...
View ArticleBlog Link: Issue Linkage in foreign policy.
Media coverage of trade negotiations in the Asia-Pacific have largely overlooked the strategic perspectives underpinning different countries’ approaches to the subject. In this analytic brief I outline...
View ArticleTrust in spies.
A recent TVNZ Colmar Brunton poll showed that 32 percent of those surveyed had little or no trust in New Zealand’s intelligence agencies, 32 percent had much or complete trust in those agencies, and 33...
View ArticleThe bin-Laden legacy.
Nearing the second anniversary of Osama bin-Laden’s death, it might be wise to pause and reflect on his legacy. The purpose is to give an objective appraisal rather than to engage in emotive debate or...
View ArticleWithdrawal from Echelon: a realistic watershed moment in intelligence reform...
In light of the attention brought to matters of intelligence collection and analysis in recent months, it is entirely reasonable for the Greens and Labour to demand a fill inquiry into the...
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