Open AccessThe Biden Administration and New Zealand’s Strategic Options: Asymmetric Hedging, Tight Five Eyes, Alignment and Armed Neutrality
Author(s) -
Reuben Steff
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
national security journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2703-1934
pISSN - 2703-1926
DOI - 10.36878/nsj20210317.02
Subject(s) - dilemma , china , neutrality , ideology , competition (biology) , economics , status quo , political science , political economy , law and economics , politics , law , market economy , ecology , philosophy , epistemology , biology
New Zealand confronts a seemingly inescapable dilemma: its security interests link it to traditional partners – Australia and the US – while ties between these two and China, Wellington’s largest export market, are deteriorating. This article considers what this new era of competition means for New Zealand and assesses the risks, costs and benefits of three strategic options open to Wellington: (1) asymmetric hedge (the status quo), (2) tight Five Eyes alignments (hewing closer to traditional partners) and (3) armed neutrality (a bold proposition for greater self-reliance). It also addresses what the new Biden administration, which is portraying China to be a military and ideological threat to democracy and the international liberal rules-based order, means for New Zealand’s management of its ties between Washington and Beijing. Through its analysis, the article contributes to policy debates in New Zealand over its options and to the literature on small state alignments and hedging strategies.