Introduction
New Zealand is a country that has always enjoyed a prospering economy and a stable political landscape, resulting in relative peace and co-existence among its diverse ethnic and religious populations. However, in 2019, the attack at Christchurch by a lone-wolf gunman disturbed the relative peace of this Island Nation, exposing its vulnerabilities to a growing global scourge, white supremacy terrorism. New Zealand, through the Christchurch Call to Action initiative, has asserted itself as a global fighter in the war against terrorism, recognizing that the patterns of terror attacks involving white supremacy are globally uniform.
New Zealand’s Geography and Population
New Zealand is a long and narrow country that extends 990 miles in length, with a width of 250 miles (Country Reports 2022). With a land mass of 103, 360 square miles, it ranks sixth among the largest island countries in the world (Country Reports 2022). It is not made up of one island but consists of more than six hundred islands stretched along its length. It is a land of diversity and contrasts, with spectacular mountains, active volcanoes, sandy beaches, deep glacier lakes, and caves. It also has snowcapped mountains like the Southern Alps, also known as the Ka Tiriti o te Moana in the South Island, contributing to its rich beauty. Another important fact about New Zealand is that 30% of its land mass is a national reserve, making it one of the countries with vast regions dedicated to wildlife (Country Reports 2022). It lies in the Temperate zone of the world, and its climate is generally mild, but invigorating with sharp contrasts among the regions.
A country with a high HDI is comprised of people enjoying a long and healthy life, decent living standards, and access to knowledge (Siu 2022). According to UNDP (2020), New Zealand’s HDI was 0.931 in 2019, placing it among the countries with very high human development indexes. Worldwide, New Zealand’s HDI is comparable to that of Belgium, placing it at number 14 among 189 countries and territories. Its HDI increased from 0.826 in 1990 to 0.931 in 2019, an increase of 12.7 showing a considerable improvement over the three decades (UNDP 2022). New Zealand has an impressive Human Development Index (HDI), which measures the standard of living, access to knowledge, and quality of life.
When it comes to the specific HDI indicators like life expectancy, mean years of schooling and expected years of schooling, and Gross National Income (GNI), New Zealand has demonstrated very consistent improvements. Over the period, 1990 to 2019, life expectancy at birth soared by 6.9% years, while average years of schooling and expected years of schooling improved by 1.2 and 4.4 years, respectively (UNDP 2022). Moreover, the country’s GNI per capita improved by about 55.8%, making it one of the most impressive performers in HDI indicators (UNDP 2022). Its HDI average of 0.931 surpasses the mean of 0.898 for countries categorized as having very high human development, and above the OECD countries, whose mean HDI is 0.900 (Siu 2022). Nevertheless, the inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI) falls to 0.859, showing that there are considerable levels of inequality in the country (RNZ 2022). These figures demonstrate how New Zealand has improved in terms of the quality of life of its population.
In terms of fertility, the country has been experiencing a declining birth rate in the last decade. At the moment, the average birthrate is 1.6 children for every woman, indicating a 20% decline in the last ten years (RNZ 2022). According to RNZ (2022), this average is below the 2.1 replacement rate, which is the mean number of children that each woman should have to enable a population to replace itself. These changes are attributed to the use of contraceptives and a sharp drop in teenage pregnancy, making New Zealand an aging population.
In terms of religion, New Zealand is very diverse, including affiliations to Baha’I, Buddhism, Christianity, Maori Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, and Sikhism. Also, there are Zoroastrianism, New Age movements, Indigenous Maori, Chinese religions, Japanese religions, and people who are not affiliated with any religion (Religious Diversity Center 2022). Interestingly, almost half of New Zealand, 48.19 stated during the 2018 census that they are not affiliated with any religion (Religious Diversity Center 2022). The population of New Zealand, seemingly, is becoming increasingly unreligious.
New Zealand’s Political System
New Zealand’s government is a parliamentary one, based on the British model, where the House of Representatives wields legislative power. The members of the House of Representatives, or parliament, are elected after three years of service. According to The Electoral Commission (2022), after every election, the party, or coalition of parties with a majority of the legislators in the House of Representatives forms the government. The leader of the governing party then becomes the prime ministers who form a cabinet with other ministers responsible for different ministries in the government, making up the central organ of the executive arm of the government (New Zealand Government 2022). Any legislation initiated in the House based on cabinet decisions must be passed in the parliament by a majority for it to become law. Nevertheless, the cabinet wields extensive regulatory authority, limiting the parliamentary review subjected to them (New Zealand Government 2022). Due to strong party discipline, and permission for cabinet ministers to sit in parliament, there is a harmonious working between the executive and legislative authorities.
The head of state is the British Monarch, King Charles III, who is represented by a monarch-appointed governor general recommended by the government of New Zealand (New Zealand Government 2022). The governor-general’s authority is limited to powers to protect the constitution and to act when there is a constitutional crisis. For instance, the governor-general can dissolve the parliament in extraordinary circumstances. While the New Zealand government is simple, the provisions in its constitution are very complex, being a mixture of convention and statute. In case there is a clash between the two, a convention will always prevail. About thirty departments of different sizes and importance carry out government business in New Zealand. Essentially, most of the departments are aligned with ministerial portfolios with each head of department working under their respective ministers.
Case Study Shootings in the International Context
Even though terror attacks had been happening in the world, including the September 11, 2011 attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, among other places, New Zealand experienced relative peace. However, things changed on March 15th, 2019 when a terrorist attack occurred in the country’s Christchurch region involving two mass shootings (The New Zealand Parliament 2022). The attack was carried out by a lone gunman who targeted worshippers during the Friday prayers, beginning with the Al Noor Mosque in Riccarton, before proceeding to the Linwood Islamic Centre, killing 51 people and injuring forty others. The gunman, Brenton Harrison Tarrant was apprehended on his way to a third mosque. Described as a white supremacist, it is alleged that he had live-streamed the first shooting on Facebook, and had also published an online manifesto before the attack. He pleaded guilty to engaging in terrorist activity, forty attempted murders, and 51 murders on 26th March 2020. Consequently, he was handed life imprisonment without parole, a first of its kind in the history of New Zealand’s criminal justice system, a departure from the norms of respecting personal freedom due to terrorism (Small 2011). This incident set precedence for other countries to set up tough laws against terrorists.
The lone-wolf terror attack is a recurring scenario involving an attack committed by a solo extremist, with no formal training and no affiliation to any terrorist group. The Christchurch attack fits this lone-wolf white supremacy profile perfectly. Policymakers and social scientists have grappled with the profile of the typical attacker in today’s terrorism landscape, seeking to know what motivates them and give the following profile (Tauikura 2022). The attackers are mostly male, with the majority being in the 20s, and the average age being 35, with a few older perpetrators (Tauikura 2022). In terms of ethnic identification, lone-wolf terrorists can exist along a spectrum of ideologies, from white supremacist terrorists to Islamist terrorists. However, it has been noted, that the majority of the lone-wolf attacks are committed by white supremacists with ideologies like Anti-Muslim, Neo-Nazi, and Anti-Immigrant, among others. It is interesting to note that most of these perpetrators identify as European or white.
Another interesting perspective concerning these lone-wolf attackers is that since 2010, they have had a considerable online presence and connected with many spectators to their extremist activities. In line with this, these lone-wolf attackers often communicate their intent to attack through written communication or video streaming. In another case, they share their intentions with their family members and friends. Another pattern that has been noted is that the perpetrators are overly armed, mostly, with semi-automatic guns (Tauikura 2022). Luckily, they cannot access explosives because of restrictions on access to such dangerous materials. Lastly, they intertwine their acts with political grievances mixed with personal issues as part of their motivations to carry out terror attacks.
How the Case affected the domestic context in New Zealand
This attack was not only shocking but was a strong signal to New Zealand that it was part of the world that was struggling with issues of white. Under the Terrorism Suppression Act, New Zealand defines terrorism as an act a person carries out to advance politics, ideology, or a religious cause, by inducing terror among civilians, or to compel a government or an international body from doing anything about it. New Zealand’s definition is in line with the standard international definitions of terrorism. It highlights that ideological motivations underpin the planning and commission of terrorist violent attacks.
Currently, the New Zealand government is exploring ways of tackling emerging forms of terrorism that are motivated by ideologies of white supremacy like neo-Nazism and anti-Muslim terrorism (New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade 2022). White supremacy is a term that is used to refer to individual terrorists as well as organized extremist groups. The 2019 terror attack in New Zealand is an example of an individual terrorist attack, exhibiting white supremacy ideologies. The person who committed it had no affiliation with any terrorist organization. Even though this kind of attack in New Zealand is unprecedented, it was neither singular nor anomalous. It aligns with the type of terror attacks involving sole perpetrators worldwide and fits with cases witnessed in Europe and the United States, christened, lone-wolf white supremacy terrorism. These lone-wolf terror attacks which are carried out because of white supremacy ideologies like Neo-Nasism and anti-Islam are intended to advance white supremacy ideologies and terrorize civilian communities like New Zealand, characterized by pluralism and diversity.
Christchurch Call to Action
The Christchurch Call in New Zealand’s proposed action plan to international organizations, Internet Players, and governments through which they commit to take specific measures to combat terrorism. Specifically, the action plan calls upon the stakeholders to develop tools to thwart the downloading of violent extremist and terrorist content tackle the causes of violent extremism, and enact tougher gun control legislation (France Diplomacy 2022). The call to action requires the players to be increasingly transparent about detecting and removing content, ensuring that business recommender systems do not direct internet users to content posted by extremists to prevent them from going viral.
This call to action plan is an example of a pragmatic measure that tackles the root cause of the factors leading to the increased incidences of extremist attacks in the world (Math 1990) It is something that other countries in Europe and the USA can take up and implement for the betterment of their population. For one to appreciate the effort made by the government of New Zealand, it is important to recognize that the factors leading to terrorist attacks, and more so, white supremacy have predictable patterns.
Analysis
Many factors have been identified to be the cause of lone-wolf terrorism and they include gender, economic and symbolic status loss, personal grievances, online radicalization, and possession of powerful weapons. Concerning gender, it is clear that men commit the majority of terror attacks including the lone-wolf white supremacist terrorist. Additionally, men who historically violated women have been found to make up a high-risk category of persons with a propensity to violence (Tillett 2021). Notably, Western countries have witnessed a rise in terror attacks committed by men identifying themselves as “incel” (Tillett 2021). Their agenda is to ensure that women are oppressed, and they also harbor white supremacy beliefs like anti-immigration.
The other factor has to do with men experiencing tough times during economic recessions, leading to high rates of unemployment. The economic losses lead to loss of status in the society, and become a political grievance (Grygiel n.d). The political leaders and governments are blamed for the personal economic and symbolic status loss, while the communities forming ethnic minorities become the prime targets for venting. When personal grievances merge with political dissatisfaction, they offer an avenue for the victims to express their displeasure concerning the political and economic shortcomings (Kesselman 2013). There are also personal grievances including issues like rejection of romantic advances, and bullying.
Another important trend is the fact that radicalization has become an online affair. Digital platforms like social media which are unmonitored spaces of interaction are very convenient for those who want to share hateful ideologies and sentiments of extremism. The issue of enabling spectators also arises, where online peers who do not commit violent acts not only support but also encourage the perpetrators online. Lastly, lone-wolf attackers take advantage of lax gun laws to overarm, appropriating military-grade weapons like semi-automatic assault weapons (Tillett 2021). The attackers also amplify the extremist ideology that carrying out a terror attack is an act of righteousness. It is interesting to note that New Zealand has worked hard and surpassed many other countries in this context by passing stricter gun legislation immediately after the Christchurch attacks with the view of preventing future attacks.
Conclusion
Even though New Zealand is a country that has been prospering economically, enjoying the presence of religious diversity, political stability, and high quality of life, the 2019 terror attacks at Christchurch disturbed its peace. It revealed that extremism is a reality that can take place in any country with a diverse population. Just like in the USA, and many countries in Europe, the attack in New Zealand was carried out by a lone-wolf attacker, who made their intention known through the internet. The Christchurch Call to Action is a great attempt at addressing the factors that have led to the increase of such cases in the world, and this has put New Zealand at the forefront of tackling the global menace.
References
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