The links between people power and key foreign policy issues such as waging war and signing trade agreements will be closely scrutinised during the University of Otago's next foreign policy school.
School co-director Dr Jim Headley said the forthcoming 43rd Otago Foreign Policy School, to start on June 20, would consider how much say a nation's citizens should have on wars waged in their name and trade deals signed on their behalf.
About 120 people, including leading specialists, officials, activists and members of the public will converge on Dunedin to debate whether more popular participation was needed in setting foreign policy, he said.
The unpopularity of Britain's military involvement in Iraq had contributed to the resignation of former British prime minister Tony Blair, Dr Headley said in an interview.
Other global issues, such as climate change, free trade and the development of human rights norms, were also increasingly affecting the lives of ordinary citizens, he said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will give the opening address at the annual school, which is being held at Salmond College.
Political commentator Chris Trotter, a former Dunedin resident, will lock horns with Dr Lance Beath, of the Wellingtonbased Centre for Strategic Studies, in a debate titled ‘‘More power to the people?''
Prof Ole Holsti, of Duke University in the United States, will also give a video-linked talk on ‘‘Public opinion and US foreign policy after September 11'' at the June school.
Dr Headley, who is a lecturer in the Otago University political studies department, said the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and the subsequent war on terror had helped throw such issues into sharp relief.
Several governments had rightly or wrongly supported US military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq despite their own people's opposition.
‘‘The foreign policy directions that governments pursue can impact profoundly on the people in whose name these decisions are being made,'' Dr Headley said.
The three-day school would provide a non-partisan forum for robust debate on how much of a say people should have, he said.
The recent signing of the Free Trade Agreement with China and the Government's international commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions were examples of policies with the potential to significantly affect the day-today lives of New Zealanders.
Foreign policy involvement by indigenous groups and minorities, and the role and effectiveness of activists and interest and pressure groups would also be discussed he said.