- See below for full interview
This could be the year New Zealand emerges as a minor global power, Professor Robert Patman predicts.
We are in an era of global transition, in which some of the old certainties and conventional wisdoms are being challenged, the University of Otago's Prof Patman says.
He points to internal tensions in the United States, China and Saudi Arabia; all of which could be geo-political hotspots this year.
Climate change, and the urgent need for action, will also shape worldwide events.
Prof Patman says the realisation by small and medium-sized countries that they cannot rely on the Great Powers of the past may result in New Zealand becoming a much more active foreign policy player.
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Comments
Sounds like a load of misguided conclusions from the usual uni sources.
Yeah right! Wishful thinking! New Zealand can barely be considered a first world country. Its hardly considered a regional power in the South Pacific and Patman thinks it's going to minor global power? New Zealand cant even exert power over its own population. Case in point the recent gun confiscation law. Miserable failure. Read what other nations say about the success of this ill-conceived law. Kiwis have a grossly overinflated view of their standing in the world. Nobody takes New Zealand seriously in the world. Most world learders wouldnt know who the Prime Minister was. New Zealand lacks the ability to project power. Much of the population is living in or near poverty. No economic base. No manufacturing base etc... These are not the chracteristics of a global power...not even a minor global power (whatever that may in fact be???) Patman is like many of the bureaucrats in power; he has no idea what hes talking about!
It is ready quite sad when one thinks beyond these sort of comments from a tertiary school teacher. One does not really expect people that live in an academic bubble to have a firm perspective on the real world, but the really sad thing is that these are the opinions of the people that are teaching our students!
The only real value propositions NZ offers the world are an airstrip close to Antartica, a military holding pen in the south Pacific, and a naive government that allows large countries to walk all over it.
The best outcome NZ could generate on the world stage would be the confinement of academics to their classrooms, a massive reduction in public sector spending, and the transition of NZ from a country to a suburb of Sydney.
New Zealand a world power? Yeah, right.
We're mostly so poor we can't even afford to buy the food we grow...for other, richer, better-governed countries.
Besides, doesn't China own most of New Zealand these days?
