The purpose of this book is to examine the foreign policy of Jacinda Ardern's New Zealand Government between 2020 and early 2023 when the COVID-19 pandemic intersected with an evolving and often tumultuous post-Cold War global environment. This context witnessed the erosion of an international rules-based order and the renewal of great power competition.

In particular, the Indo-Pacific has become a contested strategic space, which impacted on New Zealand's foreign policy interests. As a self-proclaimed small state, New Zealand faced distinct challenges: the Ardern Government formulated a distinctive foreign policy that drew on the success of its handling of the pandemic as well as Aotearoa New Zealand's indigenous values, and emphasised the importance of a good international reputation, strong diplomatic networks, and multilateral cooperation to maintain and grow its influence.

This interdisciplinary volume brings together academics, policymakers and practitioners and provides essential reading for anyone interested in how relatively small states such as New Zealand can navigate significant foreign policy challenges in an increasingly complex and contested system of international relations. .