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Subject: search.filters.subject.Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

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    Political messaging, parliament, and people, or, Why politicians say the things they do the way they do : the Parliamentary Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand in 2013 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Anthropology at Massey University, Palmerston North, Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2018) Bignell, Jessica Anne Copplestone
    One of the main things a Member of Parliament (MP) does in their everyday work is talk. They are constantly saying things to try to win over the public’s support and make the world they envision real. This thesis is about politicians’ statements: why they say the things they say the way they do. Based on behind-the-scenes ethnographic fieldwork in the parliamentary offices of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, I explore the difficult strategic work that shapes what opposition MPs say. In order to win over the public support they need to increase their vote, MPs have to communicate effectively in adherence to the rules and codes of political messaging, be good oppositional MPs, and speak and act in ways that fit authentically with their dispositions. I show that, unlike the simple soundbites we see in public from our politicians, the production of statements designed to win support is messy, indeterminate, uncertain, filled with tension and –above all – intensely complex. Drawing on Bourdieu’s theory of practice and analysis of the political field, I argue that managing that complexity to make political statements that aim at winning the political stakes and fit the specific situation, MPs must rely on their practical sense: their feel for the game that allows them to anticipate and shape the future state of play from the current situation. Because the language used to describe the world constitutes the social order that makes it real, this thesis examines how the three drivers of modern political communication, the structure of parliament, and the dispositions of individuals preconstrain what politicians can say and therefore the possibilities of the world MPs can aim at creating.
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    How is co-leadership enacted in the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand : a 152.800 thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Management at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2016) Miller, Neil James
    This research report explores the enactment of a gender-balanced co-leadership throughout the organisation of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. This small-sized political organisation has had representatives in parliament since 1996. Its experimental model of a male and a female sharing positions arose out of the social movements of the baby boomer generation. Gender-balanced co-leadership was devised as an exception to the norm of a single leader (frequently presented as a heroic man). The metaphor of theatre is used to frame a description of the stage-managed performance of Green Party political co-leaders. I show how co-leaders have been portrayed over the life span of the party as if they were characters in play. The re-presentation of co-leaders is illustrated by images, primarily taken from the party magazine. Experiences of the enactment of this co-leader model are interpreted through five interviews with key informants who have all held formal positions of authority within the organisation. I provide an auto-ethnographic account as a party insider illustrated by snapshots. The Green Party’s co-leadership model has endured over 25 plus years. By virtue of longevity it has demonstrated a viable way of sharing position power between two genders in a political party. Sharing positions in this organisation requires a significant investment of effort to maintain the desired presentation of the relationship. The lead actors are constrained to conform to the stage-setting. Parliamentary politics imposes isomorphic forces of order and hierarchy. The enactment of co-leadership has become increasingly gender stereotypical. Gender-balanced co-leadership is an experiment that has become a conventional routine.
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    Moral frameworks and policy-making : enacting appropriate decision-making in the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Anthropology at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2012) Bignell, Jessica
    Policy-making has become a central practice of Western society as policies themselves become a fundamental part of neoliberal governance. This thesis argues that paying attention to the moralities which generate policy-making practices is an important focus for the anthropology of policy. Using Bourdieuʼs (1980:12) Practice Theory, which argues that “the social world is made and remade through the actions of people,” I explore the ways in which the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealandʼs policy-making practices reproduce their Charter Principle of Appropriate Decision-Making. By examining the work of the Policy Committee, the Party membership, and Caucus in the policy-making process, I argue that balancing the four principles of what I have called Green decision-making – consensus, democracy, congruence, and electoral safety – are part of the moral project of enacting the Charter Principle of Appropriate Decision-Making. Making sense of the Greensʼ policy-making shows that their practices generate and are generated by the doxa of the moral Principle of Appropriate Decision-Making. Working from the level of practice and foregrounding moralities is important for the anthropology of policy because they offer additional entry points for understanding the work of policymakers, the meanings which constitute their social worlds, and their policies.