Anti-Nuclear Attitudes in New Zealand and Australia,
Abstract
The vast South Pacific, so near to Southeast Asia and vital sea lines of communications, is of great strategic value to the United States and the West. Peace in the South Pacific has depended on regional cooperation, primarily under ANZUS-the alliance of Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. But New Zealand broke alliance ranks when it refused in early 1985 to allow a US ship to call at its ports following an ANZUS sea exercise. Coupled with the stern US response of suspending military cooperation with New Zealand, the incident threw into doubt the future of the South Pacific accord. This monograph, by Dr. Dora Alves of the National Defense University, examines the regional events leading to New Zealand's action and the resulting furor. Because the center of the incident is the issue of nuclear arms, Dr. Alves focuses on the growth of anti-nuclear attitudes in New Zealand, where the ruling Labour Party adopted an anti-nuclear stance as policy. Dr. Alves' work is both a case study of the interaction of domestic politics with international treaty obligations and a discussion of the strong anti-nuclear attitudes of many South Pacific inhabitants.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1985
- Accession Number
- ADA187678
Entities
People
- Dora Alves
Organizations
- National Defense University