Against the Tide: Aotearoa New Zealand in World Affairs

The fifth volume in a series, Against the Tide questions the narrative that we live in a uniquely troubled world, and sets the mid-2020s against the longer arc of New Zealand’s engagement in world affairs.

Through thematic essays spanning two decades, the contributors illuminate what is new and what is long running, and what choices Aotearoa now has as it faces rapid geopolitical, economic, technological and climate shifts. This volume offers essential historical context and practical insights for policymakers, academics, students, and anyone interested in informed public debate.

This is a flagship research publication published by the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs—Whare Tawahi-a-mahi i Aotearoa in collaboration with Te Herenga Waka University Press.

Contributors include Vanessa Bramwell, Robert Broughton, Shine Choi, Christian Dietrich, Sir Peter Gluckman, Catherine Grant Makorewa, Bethan Greener, Rhieve Grey (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Raukawa), Stephanie Honey, Colin Keating, Jason Paul Mika (Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Kahungunu), Mia Mikic, Robert G. Patman, Hema Sridhar, Carrie Stoddart-Smith (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua) and Annie Te One (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Mutunga).

Hamish McDougall is an international historian of the Cold War, decolonisation and New Zealand’s foreign and trade policies. He was Executive Director of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs during the creation of Against the Tide. He has authored a book, articles, and an award-winning Doctorate from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) on New Zealand’s external relations in the 20th century. He is also a Research Associate at the Public Policy Institute, University of Auckland.

Serena Kelly is a senior lecturer above bar in Political Science and International Relations at the University of Canterbury. Her research includes international political communication, European Union diplomacy, and relations, presence, and impact in, and with, the Asia–Pacific. Serena is national Deputy-Chair of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, was Chair of the NZIIA Christchurch branch from 2017 to 2021 and is also Vice-President of the European Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand.

Mathew Doidge is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Canterbury’s National Centre for Research on Europe. His research interests include European Union external relations, regionalism and inter-regionalism, development policy, and Europe–Asia relations. He has taught at universities in Germany, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. He is Editor of New Zealand International Review, on the Executive Committee of the European Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand (ESAANZ), and Editor in Chief of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of European Studies.

Cover: Todd Atticus