The long estrangement
It is strange to observe a nation act irrationally and against its own interests. Stranger still when that nation is your own. Read more
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It is strange to observe a nation act irrationally and against its own interests. Stranger still when that nation is your own. Read more
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky faces an impossible choice. Sign the “peace plan” drafted primarily by a New York real estate developer and a Moscow financier. Read more
New Zealand can learn from Dutch pragmatism, competence and cooperation. Go Dutch: Learnings from The New Zealand Initiative's visit to the Netherlands follows the Initiative’s 2025 study tour of 42 business and civic leaders. Read more
Wellington (Thursday, 13 November 2025) - A new report from The New Zealand Initiative says New Zealand can learn from Dutch pragmatism, competence and cooperation. Go Dutch: Learnings from The New Zealand Initiative's visit to the Netherlands follows the Initiative’s 2025 study tour of 42 business and civic leaders. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich spoke about the New Zealand Initiative's recent delegation trip to the Netherlands at a Dutch Business Association event, presenting the Initiative's report on how Dutch culture and pragmatism shape policy approaches. Dr Hartwich explained how the delegation's visit to Amsterdam's deregulation authority influenced the passing of New Zealand's regulatory standards bill, with Dutch officials describing the controversial legislation as "common sense". Read more
Last month, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented her plans for 2026 to the European Parliament. She promised the continent would become the “master of its own destiny”, build its own armies, control key technologies and lead the green transformation without depending on America or China. Read more
The annual public hearing of Germany’s intelligence chiefs is normally a tedious affair: Bureaucrats read prepared statements. Politicians ask predictable questions. Read more
This month’s Nobel Prize in Economics arrives at an opportune moment. The award to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt for having explained innovation-driven economic growth provides a salutary reminder about what drives prosperity. Read more
Last year, Canadian First Nations leaders came to Tuahiwi marae, just north of Christchurch, for the third hui-ā-motu. They explained how they have been using their self-governing autonomy, which sounds a lot like rangatiratanga, to build economic self-determination. Read more
In this episode, Oliver talks to Eric Crampton, the New Zealand Initiative's chief economist, about his latest report Building Nations examining Canadian First Nations' experiences with autonomous land development and what New Zealand might learn from them. They discuss how Canadian reserves transformed from heavily regulated, impoverished areas into thriving self-governing communities that are now solving urban housing crises through major development projects like the Squamish Nation's apartment towers in downtown Vancouver. Read more