Fifty Years of 'New Zealand International Review'
Ian McGibbon ONZM, Editor of New Zealand International Review
Tuesday, 2 December 2025 6pm - 8pm
National Office
Lecture Theatre 2, Government Buildings, 55 Lambton Quay, Pipitea, Wellington
This event commemorates 50 years of publication of New Zealand International Review, the NZIIA flagship publication for fostering discussion and understanding of international affairs affecting New Zealand. It also acknowledges the immense contribution of Ian McGibbon, who steps down as the Editor of New Zealand International Review after 44 years.
The event features reflections from Ian on his four-plus decades in the role. It also includes a presentation by previous editor and historian Malcolm McKinnon on the evolution of New Zealand’s relations with the outside world. Additional comments are made by Suzannah Jessep, Chief Executive of Asian New Zealand Foundation and NZIIA national Board member, on the importance of fostering understanding of international affairs in New Zealand in the context of the current international environment. The event will also be an opportunity to meet incoming Editor Mathew Doidge.
The event is followed by a food and drink reception.
Entry is on a 'pay what you like' basis to help cover the costs of the reception.
Speaker biographies
Ian McGibbon ONZM
Ian McGibbon ONZM worked as an historian in the Ministry of Defence, Department of Internal Affairs and the Ministry for Culture and Heritage during his 44-year career as a public historian. Specialising in diplomatic and military history, he wrote or edited more than twenty books, including New Zealand’s Foreign Service: A History and official histories of New Zealand’s involvement in the Korean and Vietnam wars and the Western Front. He edited the Oxford Companion to New Zealand Military History and several collections of diplomatic documents. He is a life member of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, and has edited its publication New Zealand International Review since 1981.
Malcolm McKinnon
Malcolm McKinnon is an adjunct associate professor in the School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. He taught New Zealand history and international relations in the History Department at Victoria University of Wellington between 1979 and 1990; he has taught courses and supervised research in the School over the last fifteen years.
He published a landmark study of New Zealand’s international relations, Independence and Foreign Policy, in 1993. He was general editor of the New Zealand Historical Atlas/Ko Papatuanuku e Takoto Nei, published in 1997. He has published histories of the New Zealand Treasury and of the depression of the 1930s in New Zealand, and has contributed extensively to Te Ara, the online New Zealand encyclopedia. He has also published on New Zealand relations with Asia and on Asian urbanisation.
Malcolm has held Harkness and Fulbright scholarships in the United States and a Japan Foundation fellowship at Kyushu University. He is a vice president of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs and on the editorial committee of its journal, New Zealand International Review.
Suzannah Jessep
Suzannah Jessep was appointed chief executive at the Asia New Zealand Foundation in January 2024. Previously, she served as the Foundation’s director of research and engagement, and prior to that as a New Zealand diplomat.
Suzannah is a board member of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs (NZIIA) and sits on the Advisory Boards of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre (NZCCRC) and the New Zealand India Research Institute (NZIRI).
Dr Mathew Doidge
Dr Mathew Doidge is a Senior Research Fellow at University of Canterbury. His research interests are in international relations and the international political economy of development. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Scopus-indexed Australian and New Zealand Journal of European Studies (ANZJES), an Executive Committee member of the European Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand (ESAANZ), and a member of the European Union Studies Association of the Asia Pacific (EUSAAP). He is a longstanding member of NZIIA. He has also co-edited the upcoming Volume V of the book Aotearoa New Zealand in World Affairs, 2006-2025.
This event commemorates 50 years of publication of New Zealand International Review, the NZIIA flagship publication for fostering discussion and understanding of international affairs affecting New Zealand. It also acknowledges the immense contribution of Ian McGibbon, who steps down as the Editor of New Zealand International Review after 44 years.
The event features reflections from Ian on his four-plus decades in the role. It also includes a presentation by previous editor and historian Malcolm McKinnon on the evolution of New Zealand’s relations with the outside world. Additional comments are made by Suzannah Jessep, Chief Executive of Asian New Zealand Foundation and NZIIA national Board member, on the importance of fostering understanding of international affairs in New Zealand in the context of the current international environment. The event will also be an opportunity to meet incoming Editor Mathew Doidge.
The event is followed by a food and drink reception.
Entry is on a 'pay what you like' basis to help cover the costs of the reception.
Speaker biographies
Ian McGibbon ONZM
Ian McGibbon ONZM worked as an historian in the Ministry of Defence, Department of Internal Affairs and the Ministry for Culture and Heritage during his 44-year career as a public historian. Specialising in diplomatic and military history, he wrote or edited more than twenty books, including New Zealand’s Foreign Service: A History and official histories of New Zealand’s involvement in the Korean and Vietnam wars and the Western Front. He edited the Oxford Companion to New Zealand Military History and several collections of diplomatic documents. He is a life member of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, and has edited its publication New Zealand International Review since 1981.
Malcolm McKinnon
Malcolm McKinnon is an adjunct associate professor in the School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. He taught New Zealand history and international relations in the History Department at Victoria University of Wellington between 1979 and 1990; he has taught courses and supervised research in the School over the last fifteen years.
He published a landmark study of New Zealand’s international relations, Independence and Foreign Policy, in 1993. He was general editor of the New Zealand Historical Atlas/Ko Papatuanuku e Takoto Nei, published in 1997. He has published histories of the New Zealand Treasury and of the depression of the 1930s in New Zealand, and has contributed extensively to Te Ara, the online New Zealand encyclopedia. He has also published on New Zealand relations with Asia and on Asian urbanisation.
Malcolm has held Harkness and Fulbright scholarships in the United States and a Japan Foundation fellowship at Kyushu University. He is a vice president of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs and on the editorial committee of its journal, New Zealand International Review.
Suzannah Jessep
Suzannah Jessep was appointed chief executive at the Asia New Zealand Foundation in January 2024. Previously, she served as the Foundation’s director of research and engagement, and prior to that as a New Zealand diplomat.
Suzannah is a board member of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs (NZIIA) and sits on the Advisory Boards of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre (NZCCRC) and the New Zealand India Research Institute (NZIRI).
Dr Mathew Doidge
Dr Mathew Doidge is a Senior Research Fellow at University of Canterbury. His research interests are in international relations and the international political economy of development. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Scopus-indexed Australian and New Zealand Journal of European Studies (ANZJES), an Executive Committee member of the European Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand (ESAANZ), and a member of the European Union Studies Association of the Asia Pacific (EUSAAP). He is a longstanding member of NZIIA. He has also co-edited the upcoming Volume V of the book Aotearoa New Zealand in World Affairs, 2006-2025.
Membership
NZIIA membership is open to anyone interested in understanding the importance of global affairs to the political and economic well-being of New Zealand.