«Where Britain goes, we go ; where she stops, we stop » : this was how the Prime Minister of New Zealand expressed it in September 1939. Twenty-four years later, such a declaration of loyalty and commitment seems like ancient history. The considerations of special interests seem to have been replaced by blood ties. However, as the conflict over Malaysia showed, the real changes introduced in New Zealand’s foreign policy are not as significant as one might expect from the evolution of that policy. Both for practical and sentimental reasons, the belonging to the Commonwealth – and specifically the attachment to Britain – remains the preeminent element in this policy.
But what are the other factors, newer and hence more remarkable ? In fact, the Prime Minister’s declaration was outdated when he made it ; but it can be said without fear of contradiction that from the beginning of this century until 1935, there were no other elements to consider: Britain led, New Zealand followed. But from that year on, with a Labour government coming to power in Wellington, a second essential element of this country’s policy emerged: the commitment to the idea of collective security and the global institutions that guarantee it. Before the war, it was the League of Nations, where New Zealand often took positions different from those of Britain and other Commonwealth members regarding issues that seemed more morally significant or related to the authority of the world institution. This was the case, for example, at the time of Mussolini’s “fait accompli”.
