Asking the right questions: Andrew Wierzbicki reflects on the challenges and misconceptions involved in crafting New Zealand's defence policy

Far from being simple, formulating New Zealand's defence policy is a complex exercise today. When making decisions about how to secure the country and its trade, the government must weigh a range of factors. Finding the right balance is critical, whether it concerns funding, equipment or staffing of the forces or having the right mix of capability to meet both domestic requirements and international requests for assistance. The challenges include sensitivity around language on defence and security and the multiple stakeholders and audiences involved, time horizons and the problem of long-term planning, funding and the tension between expectations and reality.
This article is not specifically a review of New Zealand's current defence policy but rather a look at some of the issues which typically influence the development of the policy. [...]