Under Southern Skies: Sources of New Zealand Foreign Policy 1943-57

Abstract

The central concern of this thesis is sources of foreign policy in a small state over time. It is argued that foreign policy emanates from an interaction of internal and external factors such as geography, history, systemic structure, domestic political structures and processes, and leaders' personal characteristics. The distinction is drawn between outcome and process of foreign policy, since while they are in some senses an integrated whole, it is possible to distinguish between the two in determining sources and influences. The primary framework is the concept of decision-maker's milieu, which integrates the various factors in a holistic organisational concept. This means that the influence of the international system, national attributes (especially size), and national intent or ideology, are mediated through the person of the decision-maker. The milieu is also coloured by the individual characteristics of the decision-maker. Analysis of each of these areas forms the main text of the thesis, with close attention paid to the influence of each on both outcome and process of foreign policy, since they influenced the objective reality of foreign policy as well as the more subjective world of the decision-maker's milieu.. Comparing the foreign policies of two domestic regimes highlights the interplay of these various factors, and the importance of the Prime Minister in prioritising the influences. In general it is argued that the international system sets the parameters for activity through presenting opportunities for activity in international affairs. Whether and how those opportunities are taken up depends on the interest of the Prime Minister, his perceptions of national capacity, and his interpretation of national intent or ideology. The data for these conclusions comes from an analysis of the two leaders' "operational" environments, the way they saw their environment. Evidence of these subjective perceptions is drawn from the private correspondence of Sir Alister McIntosh, Secretary for External Affairs and Permanent Head of the Prime Ministers Department 1943 to 1966. The letters give a very candid insight into the human background of major policy decisions, which is a central theme of the thesis: that it is human beings who make foreign policy.