Economics assignment report on: New Zealand US Relations in context of Globalization and Sovereignty

 Summary:

This paper is examined the concepts of globalization and sovereignty and the way the feature in the foreign policy of New Zealand. In the present era of globalization, successive governments of New Zealand have reacted to it in such a way that multilateral processes were strengthened. In this study special emphasis has been laid on the study of relations between New Zealand and US.

Sovereignty has generally been treated as a facilitating concept in the field of international relations. The present doctrine of state sovereignty originated in 1648 with the treaty of Westphalia (Patman 2003,533). This concept relies on the idea of a formal equality that exists between States and also on the theory of non interference in the internal matters of other states. There are more than 200 sovereign states which vary greatly in terms of territorial size, economic strength, population, military capabilities and natural resources. On the other hand globalization has resulted in making the world a smaller place and issues concerning environment, economy, security and politics have become common issues of all the states. The revolutions in communication and production driven by new technology have provided further momentum to the process of globalization. In theory there seems to be a tension between the concept of sovereignty and globalization (Hoadley 2002, 59).

The political and legal traditions of the democratic society of New Zealand are based on the Westminster model and the Cabinet of the nation has the power to take formal decisions when it comes to the foreign policy of the nation. Unless there is a requirement for ratification of a treaty or the enactment of legislation, the cabinet can bypass the Parliament while making the decisions regarding the foreign policy of the country. However, the Prime Minister and concerned minister may choose to consult the interested parties like the trade, industry, academic or other interest groups or the general public. The ministers also depend on the advice of the government officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade while making the foreign policy. Organizations like   Centre of Strategic Studies: New Zealand (CSS:NZ),  New Zealand Institute of International Affairs (NZIIA) University of Otago Foreign Policy School also contribute to some extent in the making of the foreign policy of the country (Templeton 1995). New Zealand has some distinct national features like the intimacy and transparency in the political system of the country which means that public opinion is given significant importance in the process of making foreign policy in New Zealand. The strong feeling of identification with Britain slowed the materialization of the independent foreign policy of New Zealand. However there were several factors which contributed in the emergence of a somewhat independent foreign policy of the country. The signing of the first major pact between Australia and New Zealand, called the ANZAC treaty, the international pressure which resulted during the cold war and the pressure generated by Britain joining the European Union were some of the factors which resulted in the emergence of an independent foreign policy of New Zealand. The consciousness of New Zealand strengthened as a sovereign state, and so did the concept of globalization in the early 1980s. Though New Zealand still has close links with Britain, the nature of these relations has undergone a change during the last few decades. The country is redefining itself and also the way it relates with the outside world. In the present era of globalization, governments of New Zealand have continued to sustain the concept of rule based international order and have supported the United Nations as the personification of this multilateral process (Catley 2001, 51-52). The successive governments of the country responded to globalization in such a way that reinforced the multilateral process. New Zealand continues to show a significant existence on the international arena and despite the fact that it did not have significant economic, political or military leverage it claimed several high profile diplomatic positions.  In 1993, New Zealand was acceded to the non permanent seat of the Security Council of the UN for the third time. The refusal of New Zealand to give up its nuclear program in face of strong US pressure, resulted in the creation of new networks of support for its foreign policy. The difference that New Zealand has in its global perspective as compared to Britain and Australia, affected the style and the substance of the international engagements of New Zealand. The governments of New Zealand tend to be more straightforward in their support to multilateral initiatives as compared to some of the allies of the nation. For example the public support offered by New Zealand to the Ottawa treaty which banned the use of anti personnel land mines, founding the International Criminal Court and the decision of the International Court of Justice regarding the illegal position of the barrier set up by Israel mainly coincided with the stand adopted by Australia and Britain on these issues (Held and McGrew 1999 ,4).

The foreign policy of New Zealand was against the stand taken by Bush administration on many key issues. One such issue was the Koyoto protocol regarding climate change which was aimed at setting up international limits on global warming. President George Bush declared that US was going to withdraw its support from the Koyoto protocol as it would have an adverse effect on the economic interests of USA. Australia quickly followed the action of USA and its Environment Minister said that the Koyoto agreement was ‘dead’ without the support of the US. However New Zealand disagreed with the stand of both these countries and announced that it would stick to the Koyoto Protocol. Similarly when US decided to extend support to the National Missile Defense System, New Zealand condemned the concept citing concerns raised by Russia and China (Boutros Boutros-Ghali 1997, 7).

      Another example of this blend of realism and idealism is visible in the response of the Clarke government towards the environment created post Sept 11. New Zealand made a measured but significant contribution in the war on terrorism. The happening of September 11 manifested the dark side of globalization. Some observers termed it as a dreadful vindication of the arguments that the gap between rich and poor has been widened by globalization which has created too much resentment among the have-nots (Scholte 200,14). This resentment resulted in the demolition of one of the most well-known symbol of Western capitalism. On the other hand some others felt that the response should be given through increasing the process of globalization so that the menace can be tackled through joint efforts of the nations. The Clark government opted for a balanced approach on this issue. It extended support to the US campaign to capture the terrorist network and in this way extended the process of globalization but at the same time New Zealand stressed that the efforts should be made to address the root causes of terrorism like poor governance and poverty (Jackson 2003,3). When translated into concrete terms this support provided by New Zealand adds up to the deployment of SAS unit and the Hercules aircraft of the Air Force in Afghanistan. An Orion surveillance aircraft and 242 personnel from the Navy and Air Force of New Zealand along with ANZAC frigate HMNZS Te Kaha was also part of the role played by New Zealand in war against terrorism. New Zealand also allocated around NZ$ 30 million to boost its domestic counterterrorism measures in the areas of defense, police, intelligence, immigration and customs. However the support provided by New Zealand to the war against terrorism did not include supporting the preventive invasion of Iraq by the US-led forces in March 2003. The then Prime Minister of New Zealand stated that the government could not extend support for the use of force against Iraq to disable its alleged weapons of mass destruction in absence of an unequivocal authority from the Security Council.

Conclusion:

We can say that during the last 25 years, the foreign policy of New Zealand has witnessed considerable change. The period of increased globalization during the early 80s corresponded with insightful transformation in the national identity of New Zealand and also in the way New Zealand viewed its role in international politics. Widespread deregulation of economy and determined efforts for improving relations between Pakeha and Maori was achieved by recognizing the rights of the indigenous people by the Crown. The efforts were combined with renewed support to international human rights and in the development of free trade throughout the world. New Zealand also achieved success in having closer relations with the Asia Pacific rim and it also opted for the non-nuclear security policy though it had to downgrade its strategic alliance with US which remained a close friendship only. A number of people will agree that the foreign policy of New Zealand has been largely successful in navigating a global world but some believe that it could not achieve the desired success in striking the right kind of balance between the preservation of the autonomy of the state and respecting the interests of its allies. Many people argue that New Zealand can significantly develop its relations with the US if it lifts the ban on nuclear powered ships without giving up its nuclear free status. But there is little public support in New Zealand for such development as a lot of New Zealanders see the nonnuclear strategy as the core national interest.

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