ANZUS as an organization for collective defence

The role of New Zealand in the history of the alliance

Abstract

After World War II, for three decades the ANZUS Treaty provided New Zealand the privileges of collective defence. However, New Zealand’s nuclear policy between 1984 and 1987 made Americans withdraw from the Treaty. Consequently, New Zealand de facto was no longer provided with collective defence guarantees by the USA. The aim of this study is to examine ANZUS as a collective defence organization, New Zealand's global and regional role in the alliance, and to understand its foreign policy decisions. Furthermore, the study analyses why the alliance – which was originally created along with common security and defence policy interests – over time evolved from a trilateral collective defence organization to a bilateral alliance.