Book Reviews

What a difference a regime-change makes. Until recently, Aotearoa, New Zealand, constituted the quintessential nanny state that fiercely protected its citizens from external competition and internal pressures. But, with the recent introduction of a neoliberal agenda, the land of the ‘long white cloud’ earned the somewhat dubious sobriquet of ‘a Chile without the guns’. With a vehemence and commitment comparable to the Chilean regime, a series of wide-ranging structural adjustment reforms were introduced that exerted a predictable impact: as the market mechanism infiltrated into domains previously organised and governed in different ways, the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. And few groups endured as much disruption and demoralisation as the indigenous Maori peoples, given their already vulnerable status as long-suffering victims of internal colonialism. The articles written for this volume primarily by Maori activists and academics address the impact of neoliberal programmes (together with globalisation) on Maori, and the ensuing patterns of resistance. With over two centuries of debilitating European contact to contend with, Maori understand only too well the need for constant vigilance in taming the forces of colonisation. Resistance to the new colonialism in New Zealand is the latest instalment in the neverending struggle to retain Maori mana (‘status’) and tino rangatiratanga (‘selfdetermining autonomy’). If there is a single theme that captures the ethos of this volume (not to mention nearly two centuries of Maori state relations), the slogan ‘challenge, resist and transform’ comes closest. Collectively, the articles focus on the diverse forms of Maori resistance in challenging both neoliberalism and globalisation, with the hope of a transformation of communal living arrangements inspired by Maori worldviews. Here, an attachment to land and a commitment to living in balance with the environment are deeply critical. The book opens with an examination of the central tenets of neoliberalism and its justifications. Neoliberal systems of profit, commodification and privatisation are shown to be incompatible with Maori tikanga (customs) related to matauranga (traditional knowledge) and tino rangatiratanga. Part 1 explores the impact of New Zealand neoliberalism on Maori lives and life-chances. Maria Bargh’s article shows how the hijacking of the Crown’s Treaty of Waitangi settlement process (for righting Crown wrongs against Maori) has reconfigured it into a conduit for neoliberal practices that are at odds with Maori interests. Particularly valuable is Bridget Robson’s article on the colonial and neoliberal values that continue to underpin New Zealand’s health-care system to the detriment of Maori. Part 2 provides examples of everyday acts of resistance from storytelling to writing against neoliberal encroachment on Maori domains. In opting for this path of resistance, local activists appear to be heeding the call of the Canadian aboriginal activist, Taiaiake Alfred, who has called upon indigenous peoples to shift from state-centric engagements to patterns of resistance around a spiritual core and traditional philosophies. Part 3 consists of interviews with Maori activists, who discuss various tactics and rationales for resistance. By indigenising resistance around, by and for Maori, the possibility of a non-materialist revolution is explored. Part 4 draws connections between Maori and other indigenous peoples with regards to the internationalisation of the rights of indigenous peoples. The article by Claire Charter reveals the politics of resistance at the United Nations against the forced inclusion of Maori into a global market economy. A useful appendix includes a glossary of