About the event

The NZIIA warmly invites you to the Auckland book launch of Against the Tide: Aotearoa New Zealand in World Affairs Volume V 2006-2025. The event features presentations, discussion and Q&A from the book’s editors and several of the expert contributors, including

• Hamish McDougall
• Sir Peter Gluckman & Hema Sridhar
• Catherine Grant Makokera
• Carrie Stoddart-Smith & Jason Mika
• Stephanie Honey & Mia Mikic

Discounted copies of the book are available to purchase at the event, and online here.

The fifth volume in a series going back to 1945, Against the Tide questions the narrative that we live in a uniquely troubled world, and sets the mid-2020s against the longer arc of New Zealand’s engagement in world affairs. Through thematic chapters spanning two decades, the contributors illuminate what is new and what is long running, and what choices New Zealand now has as it faces rapid geopolitical, economic, technological and climate shifts. This volume offers essential historical context and practical insights for policymakers, academics, students, and anyone interested in informed public debate.

This is a flagship research publication published by the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs—Whare Tāwāhi-a-mahi i Aotearoa in collaboration with Te Herenga Waka University Press.

Edited by Hamish McDougall, Serena Kelly and Mathew Doidge, contributors include Vanessa Bramwell, Robert Broughton, Shine Choi, Christian Dietrich, Sir Peter Gluckman, Catherine Grant Makokera, Bethan Greener, Rhieve Grey (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Raukawa), Stephanie Honey, Colin Keating, Jason Paul Mika (Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Kahungunu), Mia Mikic, Robert G. Patman, Hema Sridhar, Carrie Stoddart-Smith (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua) and Annie Te One (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Mutunga).

About the speakers

Sir Peter Gluckman is President of the International Science Council, Director of Koi Tū: Centre for Informed Futures and a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of the University of Auckland. He was Chief Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of New Zealand (2009–2018) and science envoy for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2012–2018). Amongst international awards he received the American Association for Advancement of Sciences Science Diplomacy award in 2016.

Stephanie Honey is a trade policy consultant with an interest in digital and services trade; agriculture trade; regional economic integration in the Asia–Pacific; the WTO; and inclusion in trade, for women, small businesses and Indigenous businesses. Stephanie was formerly a New Zealand trade negotiator, including serving as New Zealand’s chief agriculture negotiator in the Doha Round. She is the Trade Policy Advisor to the University of Auckland’s New Zealand Asia Institute and the co-founder of Global Trade Insights, a business offering executive education in trade policy to government and business clients around the world.

Catherine Grant Makokera is Executive Director of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. She is an experienced trade negotiator and trade policy expert, having worked in the public, private, and academic sectors. She has represented New Zealand at the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. She is also a Research Associate of the Public Policy Institute at the University of Auckland.

Hamish McDougall was Executive Director of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs during the creation of this book. He is an international historian of the Cold War, decolonisation and New Zealand’s foreign and trade policies. He has authored a book, articles, and an award-winning Doctorate from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) on New Zealand’s external relations in the 20th century. In 2026 he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to the Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University in Washington DC, where he is researching an international history of Nuclear-Free New Zealand. He is also a Research Associate at the Public Policy Institute, University of Auckland.

Jason Paul Mika (Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Kahungunu) is a professor of Māori management in the Department of Management and International Business, associate dean Māori at He Manga Tauhokohoko University of Auckland Business School, and co-director of the Dame Mira Szászy Centre. Jason is a kaupapa Māori business researcher whose research, teaching, writing and practice centres on Māori and Indigenous business philosophy and practice in multiple sites, sectors and scales, including Indigenous business, trade and investment.

Mia Mikic is a trade economist specialising in inclusive and sustainable development, with extensive experience in academia and international civil service. She holds leadership and advisory roles in several international trade related initiatives, is a Research Associate at the University of Waikato, and serves as Advisor at Large for ARTNeT. Previously, she directed the Trade, Investment and Innovation Division at UN ESCAP and held academic positions in Croatia and New Zealand before joining the UN in 2005.

Hema Sridhar has nearly 20 years of experience in government, primarily in the defence and national security sectors, holding several leadership roles, including Chief Science Advisor for Defence. Hema advises on matters related to science diplomacy, strategic foresight and futures thinking, with a focus on emerging technologies and their impact on society and national security.

Carrie Stoddart-Smith (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua) is the Founder of OpinioNative and a PhD candidate at Waikato Management School. She is a recognised leader in Indigenous trade, and has advised Ministers, global institutions, and trade bodies, including the World Economic Forum, OECD, World Bank and APEC, on Indigenous trade strategy.