KP continues to putt-putt along as a tiny niche blog that offers a NZ perspective on international affairs with a few observations about NZ domestic politics thrown in. In 2024 there was also some personal posts given that my son was in the last four months of a nine month medical odyssey that involved two major open chest surgeries (six hours each) and three keyhole surgeries, all involving a lot of time spent in Starship children’s hospital in Auckland (including Xmas) and more pain than any child deserves. The good news is that the boy is fully recovered and given a clean bill of health, so thanks to all who offered their good wishes.
I wrote 56 posts, an increase over 2023. The lowest monthly total was two (twice) and the highest was ten, with the average monthly output being +/- 5.5 posts. By far the most viewed post was the January 2024 post titled “The New Zealand Junta,” which even caught the negative attention of a cut and paste political commentator in Wellington who used it as evidence of “Luxon Derangement Syndrome” because in it I described the approach to governance of the Coalition of Chaos. As it turns out, I was pretty prescient about what was going to happen on the policy front, and I would rather be accused of having some sort of mythical syndrome that being known in fact for being a sycophantic boot-licker of the powers that be.
Other posts about Te Pati Maori and NZ identity took three of the top five viewed posts and NZ-focused posts occupied nine of the top ten viewed (including posts about boot camps and about the different media and legal treatment of former MP Golriz Ghahraman versus the still named-suppressed teen rapist former rightwing political party pakeha male president), so the audience bias in favour of NZ-focused essays is quite clear and follows a long-term trend of KP readers preferring to read about their domestic politics. After that, posts about NZ foreign and security policy, especially those about AUKUS Pillar 2, NZ security/intelligence and NZ support for Israel and the campaign against the Houthis in Yemen, garnered the most foreign affairs-based attention, followed by various international relations and security-intelligence-focused posts and posts about the US political scene. If KP views are any small measure of NZ political attention spans, then it is clear why foreign affairs, military relations and intelligence matters do not occupy much bandwidth on the local news. People just seem largely uninterested. That may be a small country syndrome, or a distance-from-the-fray syndrome or just a “could care less in this age of social media narcissism” syndrome, but as far as I can see on KP understanding of the impact of “global” (where global and local meet) and “intermestic” (where the international overlaps with the domestic) phenomena are the province of a very select few.
The posts that got the least attention tended to be the more theoretical and academic types. The excerpts from my long-dormant book project received close to no attention, with other more complex discussions, say, about the limits of realism as an analytic construct, voting as a multi-order process of choice and the misuse of the term “fascism” to describe any form of authoritarianism receiving only cursory treatment. Interestingly, the posts about my son’s medical journey had more views than the theoretical/academic discussions, and the links to the “A View from Afar” podcast series that I do with Selwyn Manning occupied the lower middle strata of views. Also in that general category was my post about being “honoured” by the Russian government by its banning me from stepping on Russian soil, presumably because of something that I have said or wrote. Luckily, I did not have to change my travel plans as a result of the ban.
Overall KP received 22.4 thousand views and 305 comments (a fair few of which were my replies and many others were return visitors) from 92 countries. This represents an increase over 2023. KP received the most views in February (3971) and the least in September (888). Overall, KP averaged around 40-50 views per day. Besides search engines, the most common referrers were Kiwiblog, The Standard and Twitter/X. The vast majority of KP viewers come from NZ, followed by the US, Australia, the PRC, UK and India. I see a healthy contingent from Singapore (presumably due to my past connections in that country) but very little from Latin America, where I grew up and about which I have researched, taught, written, consulted and served in relevant government policy-making positions over the last four decades (Argentina provided the most views from Latin America with just 37). Perhaps that is due to not writing that much about Latin America, the link to an external article about South America’s strategic situation notwithstanding.
The same general profile goes for commentators. NZ-based people replied the most, followed by Ozzies and Yanks, and some have become welcome interlocutors on these pages (the two Barbaras, Anne and Di Trower especially). As one might expect, most people from overseas comment on posts that address topics close to them, and a few of these are trolls who get blacklisted pretty quickly (most from the PRC but some from NZ as well). Although most readers seem to come from Left perspectives, we have at few who come from the Right as well, and if I might say so, a couple have treated me with considerable empathy and decorum during a trying year (you know who you are). So thanks for that.
All in all, it was a a status quo year at KP in spite of the personal dramas. I still wish that someone would join this team of one to write about issues that I am not competent to address, with former KP luminary Lew remaining as the gold standard when it comes to being a blogging colleague. KP could use a bit more diversity in topics addressed, although the social democratic or left-leaning perspective of the blog likely invites more trouble than it is worth because of the internecine arguments on the Left about what it is to be a “progressive” in the post-industrial, post-post-modern age.
For the time being I will continue plugging along since writing (even in this short form) provides a vehicle of release for me. By agreement amongst the original KP collective members (Anita, Peter, Lew and myself) back in 2008, the blog does not have advertising and does not actively seek sponsors or subscriptions. It has therefore become somewhat of a labor of love, or some might say vanity project for myself. Whatever it is, it provides me with an outlet so I willingly defray the costs of operating the site.
All that having been said, I wish all KP resides a healthy, happy and productive New Year. Un abrazo a todos!
Thanks Pablo. You’re a must read when you publish. Please keep it going. Great to see your son has fully recovered.
Thanks Stephen. You support is much appreciated. All the best for 2025.
Delighted to hear your son is fully recovered. He’s been through hell and back. A brave boy.
With regard to people’s lack of interest in foreign affairs, military relations and intelligence matters, I think it might be a deliberate policy under NZ Governments of both political persuasions – a case of ‘the less people know the better’ syndrome.
For example:
At my family Xmas function a close relative was extolling the virtues of Trump on the grounds that he has promised to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Having survived several misguided and uninformed opinions on the ‘state of the nation’ and able to hold my tongue, I was now losing it completely. Fortunately a passing relative realised the seriousness of the situation and not so gently manoeuvred the conversation towards something more congenial.
However it was a reminder of how appallingly uninformed the average Kiwi is about such matters.
Thanks Anne, all the best for the next year.
I think that NZ social attitudes and NZ political elite interests are mutually reinforcing when it comes to discussion of international affairs and NZ approaches to it. The public is content to be fed bread and circuses in the form of clickbait entertainment and parochial sports coverage, and the elites are thereby sheltered from any real scrutiny of their actions. there are some exceptions to the rule, but from where I sit the two syndromes–public disinterest and elite opaqueness–coverge in a very unfortunate synergy.
I am somewhat fortunate that I no longer live near to any blood relative and have progressive in-laws as my NZ family. We disagree on things (they are to Labour partisan for my taste) but their hearts are in the right place. Not so for some of my US blood relatives, who have gone MAGA and thus no longer have any contact with me. That suits me just fine.
I am often puzzled by many Kiwi’s apparent lack of interest in foreign affairs too, Pablo. You could be right about the fact that perhaps people view Aotearoa as being too far away from where most major events are happening. It surprises me a lot as Kiwis are such inveterate travellers by & large. Unfortunately, that’s a blinkered way of viewing things as there’s always some sort of trickle down impact, and I think we’re about to find out just how much influence there will be on us all in the coming year or so – especially once Trump is ensconced. I believe we can already see that happening with the right here in AoNZ far more emboldened recently.
Over the past few days I’ve been alarmed by what I’ve been reading on the Regulatory Standards Bill (submissions close on 13 Jan – please submit!). I urge everyone to listen to Melanie Nelson’s podcast with Emeritus Professor Jane Kelsey on the topic. It will make your hair curl. It’s gone almost completely under the radar but is likely to be at least as divisive and damaging to our future as the Treaty Principles Bill.
On a happier note, I’m so happy to hear about the return to health of your son. – he has made the most remarkable recovery. Wishing you all the very best for the year ahead. I hope it will be a very happy & healthy one for you all.
Keep on trucking Pablo, no fun with a sick child, been there, so hope it turns out as well as possible for both of you in the end.
You and Selwyn are great on the “A View from Afar” ’cast, old school backed by serious academic and intellectual fire power. Love Sel’s vocal tics–“all that being said…” etc.
Niche is not all bad, my visiting son, increasingly political, asked me at lunch today “do you know a Paul Buchanan?” an older relative at his girlfriends xmas lunch was a follower of your work, so I told him what I knew about your history and why it mattered, and he was suitably impressed.
TM: I deleted the duplicate comment since it did in fact come through under your name. I have still not figured out how to stop the error messages appearing when people comment but rest assured that the comments do come through.
Thanks for the support for KP and AVFA and the good thoughts about my boy. Like KP, AVFA is more a labor of love than anything else. Selwyn and I agreed long ago to not advertise and if things fell the right way, pick up a legit sponsorship if made available.That has not happened and when we applied for NZ on Air funding we got the boot pretty quick. So we continue on a more limited broadcast schedule aiming for 1-2 podcasts per month depending on circumstances. Amid his business operations Selwyn runs the entire technical side out of the kindness of his heart and interest in getting a South Pacific perspective on international affairs out to the world. I am along for the ride as a talkative muse on topics of mutual interest but he is the engine. Like KP, AVFA has a small but loyal listenership. Heck, we even got Xmas greetings from a regular listener from New Jersey!
Good to hear that your son is thinking more about politics. Tell him that the one mistake we tend to make as we get deeper into our own intellectual journeys is to think that the latest thing written is the best thing written. That is far from the truth because sometimes the oldies are the goldies and everything after that is either adding polish to the argument or reinventing the wheel under a different name.The likes of Machiavelli and Poulantzas (among many other of my influences) are not called “classics” for no reason.
All the best to you and yours for the New Year.
Thanks again Di. Let’s hope that now that the light has been shone on the RSB it will die the ignominious death that it deserves. The whole way that it has been introduced demonstrates how underhanded and dishonest the coalition of chaos, and Act in particular, really is.Jane is very good value–she was a colleague at the UA back in the day and a fellow traveler when it came to matters like Ahmed Zaoui and the TPPT– so she is definitely worth listening to (even if I think that she overuses the term “neoliberal” to describe contemporary market-focused policies).
Cheers!
Merry Christmas. Pablo, I am happy to read about how your son is in good health.
Why don’t Kiwis care about national security and foreign policy matters? New Zealand’s cultural isolation enforced by a small population is a factor. Aside from differences in geography and population, the Treaty of Waitangi is where Australia and New Zealand’s national development splits.
For all my political disagreements with Gough Whitlam, he understood Australia’s place in the world and its emerging sense of identity. (Incidentally, that present-day debate is perhaps a by-product of how people feel about AUKUS.)
Muldoon never dealt with New Zealand’s place globally. This neglect played a role in opening the door for New Zealand’s eventual nuclear ban.
Thanks Luke, for the good wishes and insightful comments. One aspect of the NZ public disinterest in foreign affairs generally is that while the tyranny f distance may have contributed to that syndrome in the past–and even then only episodically, as the world wars demonstrate–in the contemporary world distant events have near-immediate impact. The Covid pandemic is a case in point (brought to NZ by air travel), and the advent of modern telecommunications has brought new vulnerabilities along with new possibilities. Think of US-style conspiracy theories infecting (yes, I did that) NZ anti-vax and anti-“Deep State” communities or the use of hacking by cyber-criminal and state entities for nefarious purposes. That makes public ignorance of the world around them even more pernicious but, alas, the corporate media prefer to feed them clickbait stories and social media has become a cesspit awash inn charlatanism, narcissism and straight-out BS.
Seasons Greetings to all :-)
So pleased you will continue with the column Pablo. Any perspective is better than no perspective, and yours is the most invaluable (that sounds like a backhanded compliment lol – not meant to be!). Yes, there is little appetite/coverage in both the population and the local media for international intelligence. For all my news and views I rely heavily on o’seas origins, of which, thank goodness, there are many, and usually immediate in the case of impt news.
I approach 2025 with caution – did we do the same with 2024, I wonder … ? There is the elephant in the room, as Di says. It could be a circus … lol there’s certainly plenty of clowns …. oh dear, the analogy is running away with me, but at least it makes us laugh…. and then we might cry …. and then, we’ll all be over it!
Take care and looking forward to your intelligence for 2025. Tbh if you wrote about anything at all, I’d be all ears …. just like the clowns :-)
Warmest regards.
Much thanks Barbara, I am honored by your kind words.
As with the AVFA podcast with Selwyn, the idea of KP is to provide a niche social democratic/democratic socialist/center-Left perspective on (mostly global) political issues from a personal perspective located in the South Pacific. I have the consultancy web site for non-personal “neutral” business related matters. Even if the KP readership is small, it is a serious and seriously dedicated lot, so the blog is worth continuing. I actually know some of KP readers personally, having met them when I was an academic or in some other professional setting, so there is a personal vibe about the interactions.
In any event I hope that 2025 is good for you and yours. I view it with hope but mostly trepidation.