Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Lecture explores trust in an age of political discontent

As New Zealand moves closer to its general election in September, many are asking if the wave of political discontent seen overseas will also play out here.

Recent global political events have challenged orthodox ideas and realigned power-balances in countries around the globe. In the next free public lecture in the ‘Our Changing World’ series Massey University politics specialists will discuss how we can we make sense of this changing environment.

The June 1 discussion, led by political commentator Associate Professor Grant Duncan, is the third of five lectures in the series organised by Massey’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, which aims to bring a deeper understanding of critical contemporary issues.

In Trust, distrust and the end of politics as we knew it, Dr Duncan and colleagues Dr Warwick Tie, from the School of People, Environment and Planning, and Dr Damien Rogers, from the Centre for Defence and Security Studies, will explore the consequences for New Zealand politics in the forthcoming election.

Dr Duncan’s lecture will analyse the many pressing challenges confronting New Zealand’s political system.

“Going by what’s happened to party-political systems in other democracies, New Zealand could be in for significant fragmentation and a transformation of the make-up of future parliaments,” he says.

While it remains to be seen if the anti-establishment sentiments rise during New Zealand’s election campaign this year, Dr Duncan says Winston Peters is well positioned if they do.

“We know that inequality of wealth, especially as it affects social housing and home-ownership, looms as a big issue for the coming election. But we have yet to see if New Zealanders will react to such critical issues with hope or with anger and distrust.”

Dr Tie will then discuss the perceived shift “away from struggles based on class allegiances to contests between supporters of, on the one hand, nationalist interest and, on the other, economic globalisation” and Dr Rogers will facilitate a Q&A session with the audience.

Upcoming lectures in the series are: Inequality in New Zealand: what’s to be done? (Thursday 3 August), and; New Zealand in contemporary world affairs (Thursday, 5 October).

Lecture: Trust, distrust and the end of politics as we knew it

Date and time: 1 June, 6-7.30pm

Venue: Albany campus – Atrium Building Round Room

To register please click here: https://masseyuni.wufoo.eu/forms/our-changing-world/

For more information on the series: Our Changing World

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