New Zealand and France: Politics, Diplomacy and Dispute Management.

• Author: McGibbon, Ian
• Position: Book review

NEW ZEALAND AND FRANCE Politics, Diplomacy and Dispute Management

Author: Stephen Hoadley Published by: New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Wellington, 2005, 197pp, $35.

The relationship between New Zealand and France dates back to the very earliest days of European penetration into the South Pacific. k was deepened by alliance in the world wars, and the huge effort made by New Zealanders in France from 1916 to 1918 as part of the British Expeditionary Force. Indeed more New Zealanders fell on the Western Front than died in the whole of the Second World War. But since the 1940s, when New Zealand first began to have diplomatic dealings with the French in its own right, the relationship has not been without its strains. Nuclear testing by France at Moruroa Atoll created tensions that caused several major falling outs between the two countries as New Zealand took cases aimed at restraining French action to the International Court of Justice.

Stephen Hoadley traces the ups and downs of the relationship in this short but informative book. It follows several similar studies he has produced on New Zealand's bilateral relations with other states, notably Australia, the United States and Singapore. After a short introduction outlining the historical links between New Zealand and France, he provides detailed coverage of the various diplomatic disputes that arose from the mid-1970s. He uses material gleaned from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's files to good effect in explaining New Zealand's diplomatic response to French nuclear testing and the impact on the relationship of the Rainbow Warrior bombing in 1985, the New Caledonia Reinscription campaign of 1986; and the Doris Beacon affair in 1990. He illustrates the problems confronting a small state in seeking redress from a great power, one moreover with the ability to inflict severe penalties on New Zealand in the economic...