Concepts Of Nationhood

Political journalist Colin James sets out some provocative statements on New Zealand's transition from a settler society, and Dr Charles Royal, Mauriora-ki-te-Ao, speculates on Māori identity in the future, and the value of the labels "Māori" and "Pakeha."

Māori approaches to nationhood are analysed by Prof Ngatata Love from Victoria University of Wellington, and Prof Giselle Byrnes takes a dissenting view of the debate about nationhood as she seeks to question conventional concepts of who we are. The Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Palmer, president of the Law Commission, explores the function of symbols in the development of our sense of ourselves as New Zealanders.

Emeritus Prof. David McIntyre from the University of Canterbury traces how New Zealand came to be called a dominion and Dr Andrew Ladley from Victoria University of Wellington looks at how the Statute of Westminster was adopted here, finally cutting the legal apron strings from the Mother Country only in 1947.

Prof. James Belich, from the University of Auckland, places the national history of New Zealand in a globalised context, exploring the way in which we have belonged to the world throughout our history.