International Affairs
New Zealand's remoteness has never been protection, and it is less so now. Our prosperity rests on trading rules and sea lanes that other countries maintain, and both are under more strain than at any point in living memory.
Two habits follow. The first is looking outward for evidence. Almost every policy problem New Zealand faces has been attempted somewhere else, often several times, and studying those attempts is a great deal cheaper than repeating the failures. The Initiative's study tours exist for that reason.
The second is honesty about where we sit. New Zealand is a small trading nation whose largest export market and closest security partners are increasingly at odds with each other. Pretending the choice will not arrive does not postpone it. An independent foreign policy has to be paid for in capability and credibility rather than simply asserted at press conferences.
The Initiative's international work examines what is happening beyond our borders, what it means for New Zealanders and what a country of five million can realistically do about it.
