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Robert G. Patman

Robert G. Patman

The Conversation

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As Trump rewrites the rules in Venezuela, NZ faces a foreign policy reckoning

The US intervention in Venezuela makes it clear NZ’s ‘softly softly’ foreign policy isn’t a feasible long-term response to a shifting world order.

05.01.2026 10

The Conversation

Robert G. Patman

Trump’s new security strategy exposes the limits of NZ’s ‘softly-softly ’ diplomacy

The new US National Security Strategy marks a historic break – and a problem for the NZ government’s policy of closer strategic alignment with...

19.12.2025 10

The Conversation

Robert G. Patman

By not recognising a Palestinian state, NZ puts its own hard-won reputation on the line

By not joining its close allies over the question of Palestinian statehood, NZ risks being ‘on the wrong side of history’.

29.09.2025 20

The Conversation

Robert G. Patman

As Luxon heads to China, his government’s pivot toward the US is a stumbling block

It’s becoming harder to argue NZ shares common values and interests with the Trump administration, or that the alliance balances Chinese...

17.06.2025 9

The Conversation

Robert G. Patman

Peace in our time? Why NZ should resist Trump’s one-sided plan for Ukraine

Forcing Ukraine to give up stolen territory in return for peace would set a terrible precedent – and potentially put New Zealand’s future security...

30.04.2025 6

The Conversation

Robert G. Patman

Could NZ foreign policy be Trumped? Why the government will be hoping Kamala Harris wins the US election

One of the political ironies of the race for the White House is that the foreign policy interests of New Zealand’s centre-right government are...

07.10.2024 4

The Conversation

Robert G. Patman