Reconciling New Zealand Citizenship with Māori Nationalisms – Key Concepts

These flashcards review key arguments, events and concepts from Louise Humpage’s article on the tensions between New Zealand citizenship regimes and Māori nationalisms.

What does Jenson (1999) mean by a “citizenship regime”?

The set of institutional arrangements, rules and understandings that guide how states make policy, define social problems and respond to citizens’ claims.

List the four major New Zealand citizenship regimes identified by Louise Humpage.

1) Political citizenship (1840–1920s) 2) Social citizenship (1930s–early 1980s) 3) Contractual citizenship (late 1980s–1990s) 4) Active citizenship (1999–present).

During which years did the Political Citizenship regime operate?

Approximately 1840 to the late 1920s.

What was the primary focus of the Political Citizenship regime?

Extending political rights (voting, court access) to Māori while simultaneously undermining tribal authority to consolidate the colonial state.

Before British colonisation, which Māori social units held effective political authority?

Hapū (tribes) and, when they collaborated, iwi (confederations of tribes).

What was the 1835 Declaration of Independence?

A multi-tribal assertion that declared the ‘United Tribes of New Zealand’ independent, signalling Māori claims to sovereignty before the Treaty.

What right did Article Two of the Treaty of Waitangi guarantee Māori?

Tino rangatiratanga – broadly translated as self-determination or continued authority over their lands, resources and affairs.

How did the 1852 Constitution Act symbolically recognise Māori authority?

It allowed for ‘aboriginal districts’ governed by tribal leaders, though these were never implemented.

Why were four separate Māori parliamentary seats created in 1867?

To incorporate Māori into colonial politics while limiting their influence; the seats were not proportional to population and were seen as temporary.

What is Kīngitanga and why did colonial authorities fear it?

The Māori King movement (from 1850s) uniting several iwi; it was viewed as challenging colonial sovereignty and prompting military suppression.

What new dimension did the Social Citizenship regime add from the 1930s?

Social rights—access to welfare, health and education—premised on universal citizenship and state-built social cohesion.

How did the welfare state aid New Zealand’s nation-building project after WWII?

By promoting a shared system of social security that was meant to treat all citizens ‘equally’ and foster a unified national identity.

What did the 1961 Hunn Report advocate regarding Māori policy?

A shift from assimilation to ‘integration’, suggesting equal rights and opportunities would blend Māori into a monocultural national framework.

Which events in the 1970s–80s re-energised Māori nationalism?

Land occupations, cultural renaissance, and protests that highlighted Treaty breaches and called for self-determination.

What is the Waitangi Tribunal and when was it established?

A permanent commission (1975) that hears claims of Crown breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Which economic ideology shaped the Contractual Citizenship regime?

Neoliberal market rationalism emphasising reduced state spending and individual responsibility.

What form of ‘devolution’ was trialled through Māori Affairs in the late 1980s?

Transferring funding and control of some social services to iwi-based providers as a step toward Māori self-management.

Why did urban Māori challenge iwi-centred policies such as fishing quota allocation?

Many lacked strong tribal ties and argued that resources and services targeted only to iwi excluded large urban Māori populations.

How did the Active Citizenship regime (from 1999) redefine citizens’ roles?

By stressing ‘citizen engagement’ and community partnerships while keeping work-focused obligations and targeted social programs.

What was the purpose of the ‘Closing the Gaps’ strategy (2000)?

To improve government performance for Māori and fund capacity-building so iwi, hapū and communities could address issues themselves.

Why was ‘Closing the Gaps’ later rebranded under a broader ‘social development’ agenda?

Critics labelled it ‘social apartheid’; the government reframed it as benefiting ‘all New Zealanders’ within a universal social inclusion discourse.

Summarise the 2004 foreshore and seabed controversy.

After a court ruling that iwi could test customary rights, the government legislated Crown ownership of foreshore/seabed ‘for all New Zealanders’, blocking Māori legal claims and sparking nationwide protest.

Which political party emerged from opposition to the foreshore and seabed legislation, and who founded it?

The Māori Party, founded by Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples in 2004.

Why have governmental recognitions of Māori nationalism often been called ‘symbolic’?

Because they offer acknowledgements without granting substantive power-sharing or mechanisms for true Māori self-determination.

What is Iris Marion Young’s concept of ‘differentiated solidarity’?

A model where diverse groups maintain distinct identities yet uphold mutual respect and obligations to minimise domination within a shared polity.

Why do many scholars argue that ‘nation’ and ‘state’ should be decoupled in citizenship theory?

To enable inclusive, multi-level forms of belonging that recognise indigenous self-determination without threatening the territorial state.

Define Miller’s (2000) idea of ‘nested nationalities’.

Citizens hold layered loyalties to multiple nations (e.g., tribal, regional, state) nested within a single political framework.

How has Māori culture been used by Pākehā in constructing New Zealand identity?

Māori symbols and traditions are often co-opted to express New Zealand’s uniqueness, even while Māori political claims are resisted.

What constitutional obstacle complicates multi-level nationhood in New Zealand?

Its unitary (non-federal) parliamentary system offers limited space for territorially differentiated self-government.

What future direction does Humpage suggest for New Zealand citizenship?

A bold regime that decouples nation from state, embraces differentiated solidarity and establishes practical power-sharing with Māori.