Relationship dossier
New Zealand
United States
Relationship assessment
Close security and intelligence partners, with a lasting alliance rupture over New Zealand’s nuclear-free policy.
New Zealand toward United States
+45New Zealand cooperates with the United States through Five Eyes intelligence sharing and has contributed personnel to Afghanistan and the campaign against ISIS. Its nuclear-free policy, which restricted visits by nuclear-armed or nuclear-powered vessels, led to a break in the former ANZUS alliance relationship.
United States toward New Zealand
+45The United States suspended its ANZUS security obligations toward New Zealand in 1986 amid the dispute over New Zealand’s nuclear-free policy. The two governments later renewed defense cooperation through the Wellington and Washington declarations, while continuing intelligence cooperation through Five Eyes.
Overall relationship
+50The relationship combines sustained intelligence and defense cooperation with a lasting change to the original ANZUS alliance framework after the nuclear-policy dispute. Later bilateral declarations and operational cooperation restored substantial security ties, though the relationship does not amount to an unchanged mutual-defense alliance.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
New Zealand and the United States maintain a substantial security and intelligence partnership, including cooperation through Five Eyes and renewed defense arrangements after the 1980s rupture over New Zealand’s nuclear-free policy. New Zealand has contributed to missions in Afghanistan and the campaign against ISIS. The relationship remains close, although the nuclear-policy dispute altered the former ANZUS alliance framework and the countries do not have a bilateral free-trade agreement.
Areas of tension
- New Zealand’s restrictions on visits by nuclear-armed or nuclear-powered vessels and the resulting dispute over ANZUS obligations.
Key developments
The United States suspended its ANZUS security obligations toward New Zealand amid disagreement over New Zealand’s nuclear-free policy.
The Wellington Declaration set out a renewed framework for bilateral strategic cooperation.
The Washington Declaration expanded bilateral defense cooperation.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and practical effects of later defense arrangements are unclear.
- The extent of current bilateral cooperation across security and intelligence matters is not detailed here.