The New Zealand Institute of International Affairs (NZIIA): Origins, Developments, Prospects

Transcription

1 The New Zealand Institute of International Affairs (NZIIA): Origins, Developments, Prospects Introduction The New Zealand Institute of International Affairs provides an independent forum for discussion and research on international affairs especially as they affect New Zealand. The Institute does not advocate any particular policy nor does it express opinions. It is not a lobby group. The Institute is registered as a charitable trust. The Institute s National Office is located at Victoria University of Wellington (VUW). It organises major seminars, roundtable and panel discussions, publishes books on international relations, and a bimonthly journal, the New Zealand International Review (NZIR). Separate programmes, mainly regular talks by visiting speakers, are run by the ten branches in Auckland, Hamilton, Hawke s Bay, Palmerston North, Wairarapa, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, Timaru, and Dunedin. The National Office is pleased to have the support of over 100 Corporate and Institutional members. These categories of membership include private companies, trade associations, Government departments and Crown entities, diplomatic missions in Wellington, research institutes and universities, and are listed in each issue of the NZIR. Corporate and Institutional members provide financial support for the work of the Institute, and are an important source of participants in its activities and ideas for future events. Origins The NZIIA was established at a meeting in Wellington on 7 July Mr Walter Nash nominated the Hon Mr Downie Stewart, a former Minister of Finance, was appointed as Chairman. Walter Nash became Minister of Finance when the first Labour Government was elected in 1935 and later became Prime Minister. Alister McIntosh was elected Secretary-Treasurer of the new Institute (he was to become Secretary of External Affairs from 1943 to 1966). Membership of the NZIIA overlapped with that of two existing bodies the Institute of Pacific Relations (IPR), whose New Zealand branch had been set up in 1927, and the Round Table, whose Wellington branch had been founded in All three bodies had links to parent organisation overseas the Round Table and the IIA in London, the IPR in Honolulu. The memberships of the three New Zealand branches was initially not large, but included a number of people who were, or became later, directly involved in the management of New Zealand s external relations. 1

2 In the early 1930s New Zealanders experienced the economic and social impacts of the worldwide economic depressions. Many saw only the local effects, but members of the Institute placed them in an international context. Their concerns were reflected in the first book put out by the Institute, which was entitled Contemporary New Zealand. Published in 1938, it was edited, and largely written, by three members A D (later Sir Alister) McIntosh, G R (later Sir Guy) Powles, and W B Sutch. Professor F L W Wood took a more historical approach, in his contribution to the series of books published to mark New Zealand s Centennial in His first book was entitled New Zealand in the World. Later he wrote, for the War Histories series, The New Zealand People At War: Political and External Affairs. Though not published by the NZIIA itself, these two books owed much to discussions at the Institute s meetings. They quickly became key documents in the study of New Zealand s external relations. Post-War Achievements After the War ended in 1945, the NZIIA took on new life. Wood and his colleagues J C Beaglehole, Winston Monk, Ken Scott and King Braybrooke at Victoria University College (as it was then), all took part in study groups on international affairs. Among the papers published by the Institute in the period was one written by Guy Powles entitled Must We Trust Japan? Another was New Zealand s Interests and Policies in the Far East by R G Latham. When a Commonwealth Relations Conference was to be held in Lahore, Pakistan in 1953, the NZIIA sent a delegation of three R O McGechan, Winston Monk, and Frank (later Sir Frank) Holmes. Sadly McGechan and Monk were killed in an air crash in Singapore enroute. Holmes alone got there. In 1959 the Institute agreed to host another Commonwealth Relations Conference, which took place at Palmerston North and proved to be the last of what had been a series. It was made possible by the support of the Government, under Prime Minister Walter Nash. The Conference was notable for the attendance of three future Prime Minister Gough Whitlam from Australia, Jim Callaghan from Britain, and Garfield Todd from Rhodesia, and also Paul Hasluck, future Foreign Minister and later, Governor-General, of Australia. In the 1960s, the Institute experienced the effects of the war in Vietnam. After the Teach-In at VUW in 1966, the NZIIA published the Report of a Study Group on New Zealand Foreign Policy with Special Reference to Southeast Asia. The Study Group included J V Wilson and R M Mullins from the Department of External Affairs, as well as C C Aikman and other members of the Institute. New Zealand s involvement in the Vietnam War stimulated public interest in international affairs and gave the Institute a new opportunity. In 1968 Professors Frank Holmes and Les Castle took the initiative to gain a generous grant of US$100,000 from the Ford Foundation, New York, to cover a period of three years, This enabled the Institute to set up a National Office on the campus of VUW. It had a fulltime staff of three Director, Executive Secretary, and Secretary. The first director was Bruce Brown, on leave from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFAT) for the three-year period. The National Office location on the VUW campus led to a continuing and much appreciated partnership with the university and its key departments for over 30 years. The Ford grant also provided funds for research and publications, and travel for conferences. In the Institute published over 20 occasional papers on various aspects of New Zealand s foreign relations, many written by academic specialists, as well as several books. The most noteworthy of a number of conferences was that in Canberra in February 1970, at the Australian National University (ANU), jointly sponsored by the Australian Institute (AIIA) the host, the NZIIA, and the Institute for Defence Analyses of Washington. The ANU Press published the papers of the conference in 1971, as Asia and the Pacific in the 1970s, edited by Bruce Brown. Late in 1970, Bruce Brown, supported by the Institute s Treasurer, Professor Don Trow, reported on the Institute s achievements to the Ford Foundation in New York and applied for a second grant. Although the Foundation had initially made it clear that the grant was a one-off to enable the Institute to establish itself professionally, the Ford people were sufficiently impressed by the Institute s achievements in the first two years of the three-year grant to break this rule and agree to a second grant of US$65,000. When the Ford money ran out, the Institute had to reduce its commitments. Ken (later Sir Kenneth) Keith, then Senior Lecturer in Law at VUW, took over as part-time director from 1974 to In 1976 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs agreed to give the Institute a grant, later gradually increased, 2

3 which enabled it to keep a part-time staff of two. From 1980, Directors were again appointed Colin Aikman ( ), John Scott ( ), David Holborow ( ), Bruce Brown ( ), Bryce Harland ( ), Gerald McGhie (2002), and currently Brian Lynch. The Institute has also been guided by a number of distinguished presidents including Professor Colin Aikman, Professor Gordon Orr, Sir Guy Powles, Mr Alexander McLeod, Professor Quentin-Baxter, Sir George Laking, Professor Leslie Holborow, Sir Brian Talboys, Sir Wallace Rowling, Mr Giff Davidson, Sir Frank Holmes, Justice Sir Kenneth Keith, Hon Russell Marshal, and currently The Hon Sir Douglas Kidd. In 1976 the Institute began to publish the New Zealand International Review (NZIR) a bi-monthly journal. Organisation of the NZIR is done entirely on a voluntary basis, by a series of dedicated people. Dr Ian McGibbon has been Editor since The Review has maintained high quality content over the years and has an excellent reputation at home and abroad; there is never a shortage of material. Functions In 1990 the Institute began holding an Annual Dinner organised by the National Office, at which a prominent person was invited to speak. The Dinner is self-funding and proceeds also cover the annual National Council meetings. Each year the National Council convenes the day following the Dinner; a guest speaker often attends. In 2003 the Annual Dinner speaker was Hon Phil Goff, Minister of Foreign Affairs. The 70 th anniversary dinner in 2004 was addressed by the Prime Minister, Rt Hon Helen Clark. Dr Alan Bollard, Governor of the Reserve Bank was the 2005 Speaker. In 2006 the retiring Governor- General, Dame Silvia Cartwright, chose as the title of her address Modern Aspects of the Role of the Governor-General in New Zealand. Sir Kenneth Keith spoke in 2007, Michael Green in 2008, and both the Prime Minister Hon John Key and the Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand at the 75 th Anniversary Dinner in The 2010 Dinner was addressed by Mr John Allen, Chief Executive of the MFAT, and HE Paul O Sullivan AO, the High Commissioner of Australia. In his final year as President Hon Russell Marshall spoke at the 2011 event. The Annual Dinner is a prestige function in the Institute s yearly calendar of events; the occasion is always well-attended and the texts of addresses are carried in a subsequent issue of the NZIR. The most public mainstream activity of the NZIIA is its annual programme of addresses by leading academic, business, and political personalities. In 2010 the feature event among the 15 addresses was that by the Prime Minister, Rt Hon John Key to a capacity audience of 310. An address by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon Murray McCully, on 5 April 2011 attracted over 200. The number who attend Wellington-based NZIIA functions annually exceeds 3,500. The over one hundred events hosted by the ten NZIIA branches around the country draw substantial numbers. Distinguished Visitors The Institute s key focus is on New Zealand s perspective on trends and developments in international affairs that have or could have significant implications for the country. An aspect of this focus is to provide a forum for distinguished visitors to New Zealand who seek a public and respected speaking platform during their New Zealand stay. By way of illustration, since 2004 the Institute has hosted a diverse group that has included the NATO Secretary-General, OECD Secretary-General, UNWRA Commissioner-General, Commonwealth Secretary General, Vice-Presidents of the World Bank, the Prime Minister of Norway, the Minister Mentor of Singapore Lee Kwan Yew, Deputy-Prime Minister of Iran, the Foreign Ministers of Australia and Chile, Cartoonists for Peace, Chair of the International Crisis Group Dr Gareth Evans, Chair of the UN Commission on WMD Dr Hans Blix, Chair of the Japan Economic Foundation Noboru Hatakeyama, and the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development. Annual Foreign Policy Lecture In addition to the above notable guests and speakers, in 2002 the Institute began a series of Annual Foreign Policy Lectures. This major initiative quickly became another significant event in the annual calendar. The inaugural lecture was given by Dr Hugh White, Director of the Australian Institute of 3

4 Strategic Studies. In 2003 Sir Michael Quinlan a previous Head of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence spoke on Justifying War. The former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Sir Shridath Ramphal, drew a capacity audience in 2004 on the topic Can Multilateralism Survive? In 2005 the speaker was the Chairman of the OECD Development Assistance Committee, Richard Manning. The 2006 lecture titled Security in North-east Asia was given by Dr Han Seung-soo, former Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea. In 2007 Dr Hans Blix,Chair of the United Nations Commission on Weapons of Mass Destruction spoke to a capacity audience of over 250; in 2008 the speaker was Dr Kamalesh Sharma, Commonwealth Secretary General ; and in 2009 Dr Gareth Evans, Chair of the International Crisis Group who spoke on Meeting the Challenge of Nuclear Disarmament. Professor Simon Tay, President of the Singapore IIA gave the 2010 address, and former Foreign Minister of Indonesia, Dr Hassan Wirajuda in Seminar Programme An active programme of regular seminars on topical issues has always been a core part of the Institute s annual activities. In 1996 the Auckland and Wellington branches ran well-attended seminars on topical issues human rights (Auckland) and Latin America (Wellington). The papers of the Auckland seminar were published as Culture, Ethnicity, and Human Rights in International Relations edited by Rorden Wilkinson. In 1997 the National Office staged a public debate on the future of nuclear weapons between a visiting expert from the UK, Sir Michael Quinlan, former British Secretary of Defence, and New Zealander, Terence O Brien, former New Zealand Ambassador to the United Nations. This was followed by a seminar on Prosperity and Security in Asia and the Pacific. Both attracted good numbers, and generated lively discussions. In 1998, the NZIIA ran a seminar to mark the 50 th Anniversary of the Adoption by the UN of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, under the chairmanship of Sir Geoffrey Palmer. The papers were collected and published by the NZIIA and by the VUW Law Faculty. This was followed by a seminar on Prosperity and Security in Asia and the Pacific the pattern changed, with one seminar on Free Trade in the New Millennium and another on Climate Change. Each involved distinguished speakers from overseas, as well as New Zealand experts. Both drew large audiences. The papers from the Free Trade Seminar were published under the same title, edited by Professor Gary Hawke. In 2000, the Institute again held two seminars. The first, which took place in February, was on Defence Policy after East Timor. The second, in July, dealt with The Consequences of the East Timor Crisis for Indonesia and the Rest of the Asia-Pacific Region including Australia and New Zealand. At the latter, there were nine overseas speakers, including Xanana Gusmao, now the President of East Timor, as well as three New Zealanders. Some 150 people attended the discussions over two days. Guest speakers at the Seminar Dinner were Xanana Gusmao, the Hon Phil Goff, and the Hon Matt Robson. The papers presented were edited by Bruce Brown, and published in September 2000, under the title East Timor The Consequences. Demand for this book was so great that it is now out of print. In July 2001, the Institute held an important and well-attended seminar on New Zealand-Australia Relations. The papers were published afterwards under the title New Zealand and Australia Where Are We Going? A second seminar, with the Shanghai Institute of International Studies (SIIS) was held on 29 August, on the theme The Asia-Pacific Region Policy Changes for the Next Decade. The papers from this seminar were edited by Peter Cozens and were published under that title. A wideranging seminar on New Zealand and the Pacific: Diplomacy, Defence, Development was held in July The papers were published later in the year. In 2004 separate seminars dealt with aspects of New Zealand s relations with China, Iran, and Russia. The schedule of seminars filled-out in 2005 with a series of day-long functions on Japan-New Zealand relations; Celebrating New Zealand s Emergence - a Tribute to Sir George Laking and Frank Corner - two former heads of MFAT; the impacts of Globalisation; and the implications of enlargement of the European Union. The proceedings of the Laking/Corner seminar, edited by Brian Lynch, were published in October

5 The feature event of the 2006 programme was a first-ever two-day seminar that examined the Major Foreign Policy Issues facing New Zealand over the period This function, addressed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs; Defence; and Trade, and other speakers, attracted over two hundred participants. It focused on key bilateral links and on the big issues at stake in border protection and resource diplomacy. Edited by Brian Lynch the proceedings were published in August Other seminars dealt with climate change, New Zealand-Korea relations, and economic and political integration in the Asia-Pacific region. In 2007 there were seminars on New Zealand s Relations with India, the East Asia Summit, New Zealand s Relations with China, Energy Security, and New Zealand Interests in Africa and the Middle East. The 2008 programme featured seminars on New Zealand s Relations with Japan, Border Management in an Uncertain World, and New Zealand-Australia Relations. The Institute published the proceedings of the seminars on Energy Security and Border Management was a special year being the 75 th Anniversary of the NZIIA. A total of 45 events were hosted or co-hosted by the National Office under the anniversary programme. There were seminars on Development and Governance in the Pacific, Whither the Multilateral System, Remaking the Trans- Tasman World, MMP and Participatory Democracy, Europe-Twenty Years After the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Trade Promotion in the 21 st Century, the Twentieth Anniversary of APEC, and New Zealand and the BRIC Group. In 2010 there were three public seminars; one co-hosted with the Japan Economic Foundation on Asian economic integration, one on Africa, and the third co-hosted with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, on the US-NZ bilateral relationship. The proceedings of the seminars on Asian integration and Africa have been published by NZIIA. The 2011 programme featured seminars on Resilience in the Pacific which drew an audience of over 300, The Arab Spring in the Middle East, and the Major economic and foreign policy issues facing New Zealand The practice of holding two or more major National Office seminars a year, as well as the Annual Dinner, has helped to raise the NZIIA s profile, both inside and outside New Zealand. For seminars involving experts from overseas it is sometimes necessary to charge admission fees as well as to obtain sponsors. The relatively modest price charged has not deterred people from attending when the subject is of wide interest and the speakers are well known and highly qualified. As the Institute s profile has risen, it has been possible to attract financial support from Government departments, especially MFAT, and from the private sector. Without such help, it would be difficult to maintain a relevant and substantial body of activity. Publications To complement the bimonthly journal NZIR, the Institute s Research Committee has expanded the Institute s publications programme in recent years. The flagship series focused on significant periods of international engagement for New Zealand has been well received. New Zealand in World Affairs Volume III, , edited by Bruce Brown, was launched by the Governor-General, Sir Michael Hardie Boys, in December The subsequent Volume IV, covering the period and edited by Rod Alley, appeared in early Since 2004 NZIIA had published and/or launched books on New Zealand s relations with Russia and with Southeast Asia, the country s experience in the nuclear age (Standing Upright Here by Malcolm Templeton), the Dominion of New Zealand (Prof David McIntyre), Mr Ambassador, Carl Berendsen s Memoirs (Hon Hugh Templeton), a History of the Trade Commissioner Service, Presence of Mind (Terence O Brien), Beyond the Battlefield (Gerald Hensley), Saving Globalisation (Hon Mike Moore), and the proceedings of four major seminars. In 2010 the Governor-General launched the two volumes of proceedings of the th anniversary programme. There were also books on Crete and on a conference on the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights. In 2011 the Governor-General launched the book of proceedings of the Resilience in the Pacific 5

6 seminar.the publication programme is an important part of building the domestic profile and international standing of the Institute. Discussion Groups A valuable forum for promoting the consideration of specific topics in greater depth is the practice of convening roundtable discussion groups, where participation is limited to those with a particular interest or knowledge of the subject. Since 2004 such workshops have involved meetings sponsored by National Office with officials from Brazil, Germany, Japan, Mexico, and Singapore. The Wellington Branch has also used study groups, to give members more opportunities for participation. In 2001 the branch published Solomon Islands Report of a Study Group, edited by Denis McLean, on the outbreak of violence and political turmoil there. Earlier, the Wellington Branch s study group report on East Timor attracted wide interest, particularly in the New Zealand Defence Force, as a background briefing for the New Zealand forces deployed in East Timor. In and since 2007 there have been roundtable discussions with Lee Kwan Yew, Evan Rogerson (WTO), the ASEAN Secretary-General, Prof Ramesh Thakur, several foreign defence officials, academics from Argentina, Australia and Brazil, and the World Bank, The 2010 discussion group programme involved senior political and public service representatives from Colombia, Georgia, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, and Turkey. In 2011 there were roundtable discussions with visitors from China, Republic of Korea, Mexico, and Sri Lanka International Linkages A sustained effort is made to widen the Institute s network of relationships offshore with counterpart organisations. In recent years this effort has been concentrated in Asia, Australia, and Latin America. There is also the long-standing and productive relationship with Chatham House. The points of common interest with partners overseas have been to identify opportunities for collaborative work in areas such as exchange of publications, access to websites, co-hosting seminar activity, and sharing of assessments on significant developments and international events. NZIIA has been an active participant in Track Two Dialogues since 2006; these have taken place with counterparts in ASEAN, Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The two-day 75 th Anniversary Conference was a highlight of 2009 and featured guest speakers from sister organisations in Australia, Canada, Poland, Singapore and South Africa. There was also a presence of counterparts contributing to the 2010 seminar on Africa and the 2011 seminar on the Middle East. Website The Institute s website ( is a significant promotional vehicle and has considerable archival value. It has regularly been upgraded. It holds contact details for National Office and branches; contains information on forthcoming events; and carries the texts of major speeches given to Institute audiences. Feedback on the website is welcome. Challenges The Institute had continued to fulfil its essential role of fostering informed public discussion and understanding of international developments affecting New Zealand. It has survived and grown stronger by concentrating on the things it does best; organising topical talks and seminars, publishing books and a respected periodical, maintaining always its focus on the global and regional issues that affect New Zealand. From its memberships the Institute seeks ideas through which it can do its job better. The Institute s Constitution specifically forbids it from expressing policy views of its own. It is a forum for discussion, not a lobbying instrument. Its reputation for independence and impartiality is its 6

7 strength and enables it to attract able and prominent authors and speakers, without payment for their services. Partners NZIIA has long and valued associations with Victoria University of Wellington and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. They are cornerstone partners. Their support is vital to the Institute. As well, the Institute is able to expand the reach of its influence by active collaboration with a range of other New Zealand-based Track Two non-governmental organisations with complementary interests. Notable among these are the Centre for Strategic Studies, the Institute of Policy Studies, the Centre for Research on Contemporary China, the VILA-Victoria Institute for Research on Latin America (all at VUW), the Asia-New Zealand Foundation, the Centres for Research on Europe and on Australia (both at University of Canterbury), the Otago University Foreign Policy School, and several private sector councils and business groups with a specific regional trade focus. The Future The volatile character and ever-growing complexity of New Zealand s external environment provides ample incentive for the Institute to constantly explore new ways of improving the value proposition it holds out to its corporate, institutional and private members. Within the limits of available resources there is abundant scope to enhance the programme of mainstream activities of discussion groups, panels, publications, talks, seminars and workshops. And no mystery about the means of doing so: sharpening engagement with business, building better ties with sister organisations offshore, maximising opportunities for collaborative activity at home, taking fuller advantage of modern information technology, and continuing to enhance the website. Above all, continuing to use every best endeavour to uphold the objectivity, quality, and relevance of its products. The Institute is fortunate to have a loyal and articulate constituency that wants to draw its own conclusions on the merits of opposing views on important happenings abroad, to assess for themselves the implications for New Zealand and its friends, and to monitor the country s performance as an international good citizen. The increased incidence of overseas travel by New Zealanders has increased the need for timely and reliable material from a New Zealand perspective on what is taking place in the rest of the world. Events outside New Zealand will continue to affect us far more than we can influence them. The need for a better understanding of the world we live in and the forces of change at work is never-ending. This is where the Institute will continue to strive to deliver a unique contribution. February