An expert panel discussion on the global rise of autocracies, effects on New Zealand and how citizens and societies can respond. 

Organised by the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs (NZIIA) in collaboration with the Global Studies Programme at the University of Auckland. Featuring contributions by:

• Associate Professor Chris Ogden
• Associate Professor Timothy Kuhner
• Associate Professor Maria Armoudian
• Professor Jennifer Curtin

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This conversation occurred at the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs flagship conference in Wellington on June 2025. Climate change is one of the gravest threats to New Zealand’s security and prosperity, and ultimately our wellbeing. The New Zealand Government has three priorities in addressing this challenge, including climate diplomacy and international negotiations, supporting climate action and resilience in the Pacific region, and supporting a domestic transition at home. 

But is what New Zealand and the global community doing sufficient? What more can be done to address and mitigate climate change internationally, while mitigating potential negative economic, social and environmental issues. 

This expert group discusses such questions.

• Moderated by Esther Guy-Meakin, NZIIA Board
• Chlöe Swarbrick MP, Co-Leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
• Kate Wilson Butler, Chapman Tripp
• Kristy Harrison, Stantec

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This discussion occurred at the NZIIA flagship conference in Wellington in June 2025. The return of US President Donald Trump to the White House has created tumultuous news on a daily basis. The Administration’s approach to Ukraine, the Middle East, international trade, competition with China and reform of US Government institutions are creating shockwaves, and may have very long-lasting effects on the international system. The ‘reckons’ on where US foreign and trade policy are heading are everywhere. But how do we cut through all the noise to understand exactly where rhetoric differs from action? How are countries like New Zealand affected? And what should New Zealand and other countries and regions do to respond? This expert panel addresses these questions and more.

• Moderated by Emeritus Professor Roberto Rabel, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington
• Professor Lise Howard, Georgetown University
• Derek Grossman, RAND Corporation (virtual)
• Emily Mosley, Australian Institute of International Affairs
• Professor Alan Tidwell, Georgetown University

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This discussion occurred at the NZIIA flagship conference in Wellington in June 2025. 

The New Zealand Government has unveiled a ‘Going for Growth’ strategy to enable economic growth, deliver more jobs and grow incomes. Central to the strategy are efforts to double exports by value in 10 years and increase foreign investment. Yet many nations are placing lesser priority on open economic relations with countries like New Zealand, as the world becomes more securitised, fragmented and unstable. Is New Zealand’s economic strategy aware enough of the global challenges? What more can be done to retain and grow New Zealand’s economic connections with the world as geopolitical storms rage? Will it be possible to keep a rules-based trading system? This expert panel discusses.

• Moderated by Rosalie Nelson, Chief Executive of Edmund Hillary Foundation / Hillary Institute
• Shamubeel Eaqub, Simplicity
• Professor Jason Mika, University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau
• Juan Carlos Baker Pineda, Ansley Consultants
• Catherine Beard, BusinessNZ

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This discussion occurred at the NZIIA Conference in Wellington in June 2025. 

For decades, New Zealand’s approach to international relations has been driven by a pursuit of multilateralism, collective security and free trade. Since the end of the Cold War, this has been enabled to some extent by the pre-eminence of US power. However, the international order and the institutions underpinning it, are changing. The rise of China and other Asian powers is altering international affairs in profound ways, sparking competition and instability. Erosion of democratic norms and authoritarianism is also making indelible marks on world affairs. Likewise, conflict in Ukraine, the Middle East and North Africa, Myanmar and elsewhere are inflicting damage and trauma, and challenging the rest of the world to act. This expert panel assesses where the international system is heading, and what liberal democracies like New Zealand can do in response.

• Moderated by Dr Serena Kelly, University of Canterbury
• Professor Caitlin Byrne, Griffith University
• Zichen Wang, Founder, Center For China and Globalization
• Professor Lise Howard, Georgetown University
• Abhishek Sharma, Observer Research Foundation

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At the NZIIA Annual Lecture 2025 on 6 May, held at the National Library of New Zealand, Hon Judith Collins KC, New Zealand Minister of Defence discussed the importance of New Zealand’s Defence Capability Plan announced on 7 April. The plan outlines investments to enhance the New Zealand Defence Force over the next 15 years, with a focus on the critical investments needed in the next four years.

The Minister is introduced by Dr James Kember, Chair of NZIIA. 

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NZIIA event in Auckland New Zealand on 17 December 2024. 

Industrial policy, including import substitution, has long been criticised by economists for excessive protectionism, which often led to inefficient and uncompetitive firms and stifled export growth. But pressures for protectionism in wealthy countries are growing, and developed countries themselves are now aggressively pursuing industrial policy as part of new economic statecraft.  Will this new tilt to industrial policy work? By focusing on key international drivers and constraints, domestic state-society relations, and elite ideological commitments, this talk evaluates the prospects for the successful pursuit of industrial policy, and what it might mean for New Zealand and global trade.

Biography:

Vinod K. Aggarwal is Distinguished Professor and Alann P. Bedford Endowed Chair, Department of Political Science; Affiliated Professor, Haas School of Business; Director of the Berkeley Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Study Center (BASC); and Fellow in the Public Law and Policy Center, Berkeley Law School, all at the University of California, Berkeley. He is  Editor-in-Chief of the journal Business and Politics, and has published 23 books and over 140 articles and book chapters. His latest book is Great Power Competition and Middle Power Strategies (2023) and his book The Oxford Handbook of Geoeconomics and Economic Statecraft is in press.  He received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University.

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On 14 November 2024 NZIIA's National Office hosted an expert panel discussion on how geostrategic competition is affecting the Pacific region and how New Zealand, Pacific countries and regional institutions can respond to this. The discussion included suggestions on how Aotearoa New Zealand can better engage with the Pacific.

The event features a summary of the report’s findings from Guy Fiti Sinclair and a moderated discussion with some of the foremost experts in international politics in the Pacific:
Esala Nayasi, Deputy Secretary-General, Pacific Islands Forum 
Dr. Guy Fiti Sinclair, Rapporteur and Associate Professor at Auckland Law School, The University of Auckland
Anna Powles, Associate Professor at Centre for Defence & Security Studies, Massey University
and Dr Iati Iati, Senior Lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington
moderated by Caren Rangi, ONZM, FCA.

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Hosted by the Australian Institute of International Affairs and the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs on 5 December 2024. 

It is difficult to think of two countries more closely aligned than Australia and New Zealand. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade describes the neighbours as 'natural allies with a strong trans-Tasman sense of family' and New Zealand's Ministry of Defence says that New Zealand has 'no better friend and no closer ally'.

But the perceived and practical closeness of Australia and New Zealand also means that their alliance is so taken-for-granted that it is seldom analysed. In the November special issue​ of the Australian Journal of International Affairs scholars from both sides of the Tasman address this gap by examining the current state of the alliance and identifying issues likely to test it in the future.

The event brought together Anna Powles and Joanne Wallis, the guest editors of the special issue, for a stocktake of the current state of the Australia-New Zealand alliance. They were joined by contributors Darren Lim and Jason Young, who will focus on the allies' differing relationships with China and consider what that means for the future of their relationship. The discussion was chaired by David Capie.

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NZIIA Event held in Wellington on 7 August 2024. 

In essence, Australia’s commitment to AUKUS is a vote to help preserve Asia’s US-led unipolar strategic order. But what are the alternatives?  What kinds of new regional order might emerge to take the old order’s place if it cannot be preserved?  And how would we fare in them?

Professor Hugh White’s presentation explores these questions, looking at the global context as shaped by the war in Ukraine and the alignment between China and Russia. It asks if the global Rules Based Order fails, what will take its place – authoritarian hegemony or politically diverse multipolarity? And what would it mean for Asia, and more particularly for Australia and New Zealand?

Professor White’s address is followed by additional expert discussion from John McKinnon, Chair of the New Zealand-China Council and Senior Fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington.

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