The Realpolitik of small states: explaining New Zealand’s silence on human rights violations in Turkey (Türkiye) and China

Abstract

ABSTRACT When and why do human rights-defending countries tolerate the actions of known rights violators? This paper examines that question using New Zealand’s bilateral relationships with the Republic of Turkey (also Türkiye) and the People’s Republic of China. The aim is to ascertain systematic regularities as to when and why New Zealand, a liberal democratic state with an expressed commitment to human rights, has been relatively mum on atrocities in China and Turkey. Drawing from archival and recent documentary evidence, the article finds that shifting commercial interests play a key role in New Zealand’s reticence, and that its relationships with China and Turkey have deepened over time, even amid increasing authoritarianism and human rights abuses in these countries.