Historical Dictionary of New Zealand

(Hardback, Third Edition)

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Diverse elements have created New Zealands distinctive political and social culture. First is New Zealands journey as a colony, and the various impacts this had on settler and Maori society. The second theme is the quest for what one prominent historian has labelled national obsessions equality and security, both individual and collective. The third, and more recent, theme is New Zealands emergence as a nation with a unique identity. New Zealands small geographic size and relative isolation from other societies, the dominant influence of British culture, the resurgence of Maori language and culture, the endemic instability of an economy based on a narrow range of pastoral products, and the dominance of the state in the lives of its people, all help to explain much of the present-day New Zealand psyche. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of New Zealand contains a chronology, an introduction, appendix, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 800 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about New Zealand.

Reviews

With this third edition, Historical Dictionary of New Zealand is renewed and reinforced as one of the important general reference sources on New Zealands history and, especially, politics. It will be valuable to libraries in institutions where there is study or research interest in the country, primarily for the overview it provides and as a quick reference source. Given New Zealands position on the geographic extremities of the Anglosphere, it will also be useful in libraries, both academic and public, as a general reference and introduction to a country which many will know of, but know little about. * s *

Author Bio

Janine Hayward is an Associate Professor of New Zealand Politics at the University of Otago, New Zealand. She has published in the fields of the Treaty of Waitangi, constitutional politics, local government politics, electoral reform, and media and politics. Richard Shaw is a professor in the Politics Programme at Massey University. He teaches New Zealand politics, with research expertise in the role of political advisers in executive government.