Course syllabus

 

 

 

 

DISCIPLINE OF POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (POIR)

 

POLITICS 240   New Zealand Diplomacy

 

COURSE SYLLABUS

 

Semester Two 2017   Lecture Tuesday 11am – 1 pm and Discussion Hour Friday 11-12am

 

Course coordinator, lecturer, and discussion leader for Pol 240

Associate Professor Stephen Hoadley,

HSB, Room 511

Tel 3737599 ext 87031

s.hoadley@auckland.ac.nz

Office Hours: Tuesdays 1-3 pm, Friday 10-11am, or by appointment

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This is a survey of selected aspects of New Zealand’s diplomacy, foreign relations, and security and trade policies.   Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) officials will provide several lecturers as part of their public outreach policy.   AP Stephen Hoadley will provide other lectures, as required.  The lecture topics and sequence are adapted each year to the availability of the MFAT speakers.  In other respects, the course is similar to other Stage II and Stage III courses in requirements expected of the students at each level.

 

 

PURPOSES AND OBJECTIVES OF THIS COURSE

• To provide students with a common core of ideas and information about NZ foreign policy and some familiarity with the institutions and officials that carried it out and how they operate.
• To inform students about the origins, structures, processes, and political issues surrounding key sectors of New Zealand’s foreign policy and those of the other states, regions, and international organizations with which New Zealand interacts. 
• To stimulate interest and provide background in topics that can be researched for essays in this and other courses and later for graduate research essays, dissertations, and thesis.
• To prepare students for other courses in international relations and human rights and for eventual career work in governments, international organisations, NGOs, and other professions.
• To sharpen skills and deepen experience in perceptive listening, efficient research, discriminating analysis, critical thinking, accurate writing, and effective oral presentation.

• In general, to recommend the view that foreign policy-making is an interest-driven and politically pragmatic problem-solving activity by individuals and institutions, all of which are profoundly affected by political and international influences.

 

 

COURSE STRUCTURE

There will be two types of meetings associated with the course: lectures and discussion hours.  Each provides a different sort of learning experience, and each is important.

 

The lectures are designed so that the MFAT speaker or the principal lecturer can provide in the first hour an overview of a foreign policy sector in which he or she is an expert.  In the second hour they will give students a chance to ask questions and request elaboration of matters arising from the formal lectures.  Students are invited to introduce themselves to the guest speakers after the lecture and put individual questions to them. 

 

The discussion hours are designed to give students an opportunity to discuss with each other and with the principal lecturer some of the issues that have arisen in the lectures, readings, and current events.  The discussion hours also provide students with opportunities for public presentation and debate.  As well, students can request from the lecturer advice on essay writing and test and exam preparation.   

 

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND ASSESSMENT for POL 240

 

MEMO #1                            Value                    10% of final course grade

Due                        As you are rostered, the hard copy write-up is to be submitted at Friday Discussion Hour the week after the Tuesday lecture.

Length                  250 words (flexible)

Topic                     Linked to the week’s lecture topic. See Guidelines in Assignments.

 

MEMO #2                            Value                    10% of final course grade

Due                        29 September  at Discussion Hour

Length                  250 words (flexible)

Topic                     See Guidelines in Assignments.

 

TEST                                       Value                    20% of the final course grade

                                                Due                        29 August 1205 pm -1255 pm

                                                Length                  50 minutes, in class

                                                Topic                     Week 1 – 5 lectures and readings

 

ESSAY                                    Value:                   30% of final course grade

Due:                      2PM Thursday 12 October at Assignments Centre, Student Space, Level 4 HSB

Length:                 1500 words (flexible) not counting Bibliography and footnotes

Topic:                    See Guidelines below   

 

EXAMINATION                  Value:                   30% of final course grade

Date:                     (Date, Time and Location TBA)

Duration:             Two hours.  Three questions chosen from a list of options.

 

Students are advised to consult the following people (in this order) at the earliest possible opportunity if, for any reason, they experience problems in completing an assessment or have a course-related problem:

• The Course Coordinator
• The Course Lecturer
• The Undergraduate Advisor
• The Head of Discipline of Politics and International Relations.

 

 

GUIDELINES FOR STUDENT WORK

There are five coursework requirements, successful completion of which will earn you a good pass if they are done properly and on time: (1) Question draft #1; (2) Question draft #2; (3) Test ; (4) Essay; (5) Final Exam.   Students are recommended to consult the POIR Coursework Guide. It is available free-of-charge via the website  https://cdn.auckland.ac.nz/assets/arts/documents/PIR-coursework_guide-2016.pdf

PLEASE SEE ASSIGNMENTS FOR DETAILS ON EACH          

 

NB:   AVOID PLAGIARISM

 In any assignment, unacknowledged copying or plagiarism is not acceptable and is treated as an examination offence. In The University of Auckland guidelines on cheating in coursework (2001) plagiarism is defined as follows:

Plagiarism is the use of other people’s work in an assignment and presenting it as your own without explicitly acknowledging - or referencing – where it came from. Plagiarism can also mean not acknowledging the full extent of indebtedness to a source. Work can be plagiarised from many sources - including books, articles, the world wide web (Internet), and other students’ work. Plagiarism can easily occur unconsciously or inadvertently. Direct copying is also plagiarism. Paraphrasing of other work without attribution is also plagiarism. Submitting someone else’s unattributed or less than fully attributed work or ideas is not evidence of your own grasp of the material and cannot earn you marks. Note: Plagiarism applies to all levels of work, including theses and dissertations.

Plagiarism at any level is treated very seriously.  Plagiarism is considered a crime (of theft) in universities because our ideas and our published writing are a form of intellectual property. You may borrow ideas and facts from many sources, but use only a sentence or a phrase at a time, embedded in your own composition, and make sure you give the author of the phrase or idea credit in a source note.  If you use more than a phrase or a couple of sentences in quotes with a reference to their source, you will run the risk of plagiarism.  Or you will be marked down for ‘paraphrasing’ which is a lazy substitute for your own thinking and writing.  If you are unsure about what constitutes plagiarism or paraphrasing, you should seek advice from your tutor or lecturer.

Self-Plagiarism: You may NOT use any paper or portion thereof you have previously or simultaneously written for another class to fulfil the requirements of this paper.

 

ESSAY SUBMISSION QUICK GUIDE

• Unless you have made an alternative arrangement with your lecturer (such as an extension for illness), your essay must be submitted in hard copy to the Assignments Centre, Student Space, Level 4 of Human (Social) Sciences Building before 2PM ON THE DUE DATE.
• Your essay must include a barcoded Assignment Tracking Sheet which can be downloaded from CANVAS Cover Sheet, properly completed and stapled to the front of your essay. 
• Please ensure you have a Turnitin receipt attached to your essay.  You may submit to Turnitin via Canvas Assignments, Essay.

 

LATE COURSEWORK POLICY

1. Submitting your work by the deadline

Essays will be marked as normal if logged in at Arts 1 Reception before 2pm on the due date or if an extension is approved by your tutor or lecturer before the deadline.

2. Extensions for work submitted after the deadline

If you foresee a problem with completing your work on time because of personal or family health issues or severe conflicts with other commitments then you should seek an extension from your lecturer well in advance of the deadline.

3. An extension will be granted only:

1. Where there is good cause, backed up by documentary evidence if required by the lecturer.
2. The lecturer’s authorisation of an extension is entirely at their discretion, and it is also completely at their discretion to decide how long an extension to grant.
3. When in doubt, attach an explanation to your coursework if it is submitted late.

4. Acceptable and unacceptable causes.

Acceptable causes include illness (supported by medical certificate), unexpected death or grave illness in the family, or very severe disruptions to your normal life such as eviction or transportation failure or overseas travel.  Unacceptable causes include other course deadlines, or work pressure.

5. Penalties for work submitted late with no extension:
6. Essays submitted up to two days late will lose 5 marks
7. Essays submitted between three and five days late will lose 10 marks
8. Essays submitted between six and ten days late will lose 25 marks
9. Essays submitted more than ten days past the due submission date will not be accepted and the student will be given a 0% mark for the essay.

NB: In exceptional cases, the lecturer may allow a piece of work submitted ten days late to receive a mark of up to 50 to pass, should the work deserve it.

 

TUAKANA MENTORING PROGRAMME

The Tuakana Arts Undergraduate Mentoring programme aims to assist Maori and Pacific students in settling into the culture of academic life. Tuakana Arts has two full-time mentors available to assist you as well as having peer mentors in most departments. The programme’s goal is to assist students in achieving academic excellence. The mentors work in partnership with the student to ensure that they are able to achieve to their highest potential. The mentors provide advice, give workshops, and assist students to form study groups. The programme also provides a space for students to study.  Tuakana meets at Room 502, Human Science Building.

If you are interested in participating in the Politics programme, contact tuakana.politics@auckland.ac.nz   You can access the University’s services online at http://www.arts.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/home/for/maori-and-pacific-students-7/undergraduate-1 

 

 SCHEDULE OF LECTURES 2017 [speakers, topics and sequence may be altered depending on availability of speakers] 

 

Week 1.  Lecture 25 July.  Welcome to the course by Associate Professor Stephen Hoadley.

Guest Speaker: Simon Tucker, Director, Auckland Office of MFAT

Topic: Operating Abroad: Reflections of a New Zealand Diplomat

Discussion questions:  1) Why and how have the institutions and practices of diplomacy internationally, and particularly in New Zealand, evolved in the past century?  2) What are the aims, structure and functions of MFAT and the organization of its overseas posts and why have they assumed these configurations?  3) What can, and cannot, New Zealand's diplomats accomplish? 4) Construct an argument, with a critique, that diplomats should, or should not, remain aloof from the world of practical politics, economics, and human affairs.  5) What is ‘diplomatic immunity’, why is it useful, and why is it controversial?  6) What can be learned about NZ Diplomacy from Simon Tucker’s career experiences and observations?

Reading: Simon Tucker’s PPT.  Diplomacy PPTs by Clarke-Watson and Chilton.  Notes on diplomatic immunity.       Find in Canvas Files W1

 

Week 2.  Lecture 1 August. 

Speaker: Stephen Hoadley

Topic: Survey of New Zealand‘s Foreign Policy Aims, Diplomatic Institutions, and Political Influences.  Four principal influences on NZ foreign policy decisions.  Government leaders and officials.  Institutions.  Party and pressure group politics. 

Discussion questions: 1) How do NZ’s unique history, society, and economy shape NZ’s diplomatic aims, institutions, and style?  2) How can NZ’s ‘idealist’ posture be defended against charges of naiveté and free-loading, and against the ‘realist’ critique generally?  3) In what respects is NZ’s foreign policy-making process inescapably, and legitimately, ‘political’?  4) Why are political influences and public opinion pressure on NZ foreign policy-making annoying to diplomats but not a fundamental problem?    5) How can NZ cope diplomatically with the whole world? 6) What do New Zealanders think about the United States and how do these views clash with New Zealand’s national interests?

Reading: New Zealand United States Relations (2^nd ed 2016) by Stephen Hoadley, Chapter 1 and 13.    Find in CANVAS  Files W2.   Also Hoadley PPTs on NZ Foreign Policy Politics and NZ Foreign Policy Issues, at Files W2.

 

Week 3.  Lecture  8 August   

Speaker: Stephen Hoadley.

Topic: New Zealand’s Trade Policies, Institutions, Opportunities and Obstacles.  Trade policy aims, institutions, processes, and issues.  Case studies of negotiating with Europe 1971;  Japan in 1970s; Australia CER in 1979-1983; NZ-Singapore Closer Economic Partnership 1999-2000; NZ-Thailand 2004; NZ-Korea2014.   Why APEC and the WTO is helpful to New Zealand.

Discussion questions:  1) What is New Zealand’s four-track trade policy and why is one track sometimes chosen over another?  2) What is a free trade agreement (FTA) and how is one negotiated by NZ?  3) Why are bilateral trade and investment negotiations sometimes preferable to multilateral ones but why are they less than ideal? 4)  Why and how are trade negotiations inevitably shaped by their political context and how does the NZ Government deal with this?

Reading: New Zealand Trade Negotiations (2017) by Stephen Hoadley, Chapter 1.    Find in CANVAS  Files  W3  Also Hoadley on NZ Trade Policies at Files W3

  For a wealth of trade policy information, hyperlinked, go to  http://www.mfat.govt.nz/Trade-and-Economic-Relations/index.

 

Week 4  Lecture  15 August

Speaker:  John Riley, Trade Negotiations Division, MFAT. 

Topic:  Current and anticipated trade negotiations.  Four pending  FTAs: GCC, India, Russia, Pacer Plus.  NZ approaches to the EU and UK in the context of Brexit.   From TPP-12 to TPP-11.   What New Zealand hopes to achieve, and what obstacles stand in the way, to future FTAs.    

Discussion questions: 1) Why are four FTAs still ‘pending’ and not completed?   2) Why was the Saudi sheep deal politically controversial but justifiable?  3) What were some of the controversies surrounding the TPP negotiations and will the exit of the US make things easier?   4) What is the process for initiating FTA talks with Europe, Britain, and Mercosur?  5) What are the aims and prospects for a FTA with the United States? 6) What is the aim of the Trade Agenda  2030 Strategy and how is it to be achieved?

Reading: Hoadley NZ Trade Negotiations (2017), Chapter 1, 11, skim 8, 9, 10.  PPT by Martin Harvey.  PPT by John Riley.     Find in Canvas Files W4

 

Week 5.  Lecture 22 August.

Speaker:  Nicola Reid, Advisor, International Policy Team, Ministry of Defence

Topic: Defence Diplomacy.  What ‘defence diplomacy’ is generically and how it works in practice.  What MFAT’s ISED Division is and does.  How MFAT liaises with the NZDF and other security agencies.  The broader politico-security tasks performed by the NZDF and how the NZDF is organised for diplomatic functions.  Case studies: NZ peace support operations and reconstruction in E Timor, Solomon Islands, Afghanistan, Iraq

Discussion questions: 1) What is ‘defence diplomacy’ and how does it differ from and complement conventional diplomacy?   Cite examples.  2) How does New Zealand cooperate in defence diplomacy with other countries, particularly the US and Australia, to enhance global security, for example, by UN peacekeeping deployments?   3)  How does New Zealand cooperate in defence diplomacy with Australia and other countries to enhance security in Asia  OR the Pacific islands  OR other troubled regions?  4) How does the NZDF (with MFAT and other NZ agencies) use its diplomatic and non-combat capabilities to contribute to countering terrorism? 5) What were the diplomatic benefits and liabilities for the NZ government of deploying NZDF soldiers to Afghanistan, Iraq, or another conflict theatre?

Reading: Nicola Reid PPT 22 Aug 2017.  Hoadley PPTs and chapters on the NZPRT and civil-military relations in Afghanistan.  Sinclair talk notes on defence diplomacy 2010.     See in Canvas  Files  W5 readings.

 

Week 6.   Lecture 29 August

Speaker:  Stephen Harris

Topic:  Southeast and South Asia.   What ‘Southeast Asia’  and ‘South Asia’ are in diplomatic terms.  New Zealand’s interests in Southeast Asia and in South Asia.  Opportunities and obstacles to closer relations. 

Discussion questions:  1) What exactly are ‘Southeast Asia’ and ‘South Asia’ and why should New Zealand treat them as important?  2) What is AANZFTA, and why and how was it achieved?  3) Why did then Foreign Minister Murray McCully make a special trip to Vietnam , an enemy in the 1960s/70s, in April 2017?  4) Why did Sri Lanka stop importing NZ dairy products in 2014 and then become the venue of NZ’s newest high commission in 2017? 5) What are NZ's interests in India and how are they being pursued? 

Readings:  Hoadley PPT on Southeast Asia and New Zealand 2017.      Find in Canvas  Files W6

 

 

 

Test 1105-1155 am Tuesday 29 August

 

Mid-Semester Break.  No lectures 5 or 12 September 2017 or discussion hours.   Consultations by appointment are ok.

 

 

Week 7.  19 September 

Speaker: Nick Markwell, Consular Divisional Legal Advisor

Topic:  The Consular Dimension.  What the Consular Division is, and does.  The origins, development and principles of consular services as distinct from bilateral and multilateral diplomacy.  Policy, management and problem-solving in New Zealand’s consular practice.  What services New Zealanders can reasonably expect from the Consular Service.  Consular functions of NZ embassies and interface with host country officials.  Case studies, including issues of treatment of dual nationals; what should the government pay for; the effect of travel advisories; and how the government takes decisions in these situations. 

 Discussion questions:   1)  How can the Consular Division and NZ diplomatic posts  help New Zealanders abroad and why should they do so despite cost and trouble and occasional NZ travellers’ foolishness?  2) How is Consular Division work distinct from, but also related to, conventional diplomacy? 3) How has the Consular Division  responded to a recent emergency (cite an example) and how could future responses be improved, given institutional, political, international, and practical limitations?  4) Given political and financial limits, what are the drivers of change in contemporary consular practice, and what is the forecast?  5) What are the pros and cons of outsourcing NZ consular services?

Reading: PPT presentation by Carl Reaich.   Also see PPT by Lyndal Walker,     Find in Canvas Files  W7

NB:   More details are in Luke T.Lee & John B Quigley, Consular law and practice (2008) and Jan Melissen & Ana Mar Fernández, eds. Consular affairs and diplomacy (2011) in the Library shelves.

 

Week 8.  Lecture 26 September

Speaker: Rory MacDonald, North Asia Division, MFAT

Topic:  New Zealand Interests and Initiatives in China, Japan, and Korea

Discussion questions: 1) What are New Zealand's aims in its diplomatic, economic, and security relations with China OR Japan OR Korea and how does it pursue them?  2) What economic disputes have troubled the NZ-Japan relationship in the past and how have they been dealt with?  3) How have NZ and Japan adapted to the US withdrawal from the TPP?  4) How has North Korea's bellicosity affected New Zealand?  5) What is the NZ stance towards Japan's island disputes with South Korea and with China and Taiwan?   

Readings:  Stephen Hoadley PPTs in Files Week 8.  Hoadley book NZ Trade Negotiations, Chapter 3 on Japan, Chapter 6 on Korea, Chapter 7 on China.  Find in Canvas Files Week 8.

Also Hoadley opinion piece 'NZ and North Korea: Dual Threat'. Access at https://www.newsroom.co.nz/@future-learning/2017/08/21/43895/north-korea-the-real-threats-to-nz

 

Week 9.    Lecture 3 October

Speaker: Sir James McLay, formerly NZ Ambassador to the United Nations

Topic: The Making of a Diplomat.  Jim McLay’s career from National Party Leader and IWC Commissioner to UN Ambassador and Special Representative to the Palestinian Authority.

Discussion questions:  1) What was the process by which Mr McLay was appointed Ambassador to the UN?  2) What preparation did Murray McCully or MFAT officials provide before he departed for the US?  3) What were his roles and responsibilities when he arrived at the NZ Mission in NYC?   4) Why has NZ traditionally been a conscientious participant in international organisations such as the UN despite the cost and alleged lack of influence among the major powers? 5) Why did NZ seek a UN Security Council seat in 2015 and how did Ambassador McLay manage the NZ campaign to win the General Assembly vote?  6) What did his UN team accomplish during the NZ term on the UN Security Council, and what limited NZ’s success?  7  Was NZ’s aim to use the UNSC to bring the Israelis and Palestinians into peace negotiations doomed to fail but nevertheless  a worthwhile initiative?  8) In view of the controversy and criticism, was the NZ sponsorship of UNSC Resolution 2334 justified in retrospect?  9) What opportunities does Mr McLay’s appointment as special representative to the Palestinian Authority A present to furthering New Zealand’s interests, and what are the risks?  10) Does NZ anti-whaling stance jeopardise good trade relations with Japan?

Readings:     Hoadley PPT on NZ in the United Nations.  Jim McClay speech to UN 2013.    Find in Canvas Files W9

Week 10.  Lecture 10 October   

Speaker:  Stephen Hoadley

Topic: NZ-US Security and Diplomatic Relations.   History of the relationship.   Historical and recent disagreements over nuclear weapons and ship visits.  Reconcilliation.  Wellington and Washington Declarations.  Prospects for deeper security cooperation…and controversies and risks. Convergence in the UN

Discussion questions: 1) What bilateral differences over military and security policies divided NZ and the US from early days till the 1970s?  2) What exactly is ‘the nuclear ships issue’, to what extent has it impaired the NZ-US diplomatic relationship, and how has this impairment now been minimised? [ For details read Gerald Hensley, Friendly fire: nuclear politics and the collapse of ANZUS, 1984-1987.] 3) What was the Broomfield Bill and how did NZ diplomats respond to it with some success?  4)  What doubts do many New Zealanders have about current  NZ-US security , military, and intelligence cooperation?   5) How have NZ and US diverged in the UN?

Reading:  Stephen Hoadley’s book New Zealand United States Relations (2016) in CANVAS  skim Ch 1-8, 13-14     Find in Canvas  Files W10

 

 

Essay due 2 pm Thursday 12 October

 

Week 11. 17 October

Speaker: Stephen Hoadley

Topic: NZ-US Economic Relations.  Early economic convergence and also differences.  Cooperation in the GATT and WTO.  Trade disputes.  Prospects for the TPP or a bilateral FTA.

Discussion questions:  1) What economic policy issues divided NZ and the US from the 1930s to the 1960s?  2) Choose a dispute over the GATT Subsidies Code, lamb, dairy products, kiwifruit, or intellectual property (choose one) and assess how NZ officials managed it.  3) Why does NZ want a free trade agreement with either A) the TPP partners or B) the US or C) Japan,  why has this initiative failed so far, and how can it now be renewed?   4 What lessons have NZ diplomats learned about how to manage economic disputes with the US?

Readings:  Hoadley, New Zealand Trade Relations (2017), Chapter 1, 3, & 11.  Hoadley NZ US Relations,  Ch 9-12 & 14     Find in Canvas Files W11.  

                                                                                     

 

 Week 12, 24 October

Speaker: Murray McCully, former Minister of Foreign Affairs

Topic: the Role of a Minister of Foreign Affairs. Successes.   Disappointments. Challenges to the new Government.

Read:  Murray McCully's speech uploaded to Files for  Week 12

Briefing on the final exam.