About us

AWNZ emerged from a personal reflection in 2024, prior to the US election that year.

Like others, I anticipated that the election would have implications for global democracy, including in New Zealand.  Here is the note I wrote for my own reference purposes in July 2024.

My perspective seemed extreme at the time, even to me.  However, the rapid and effective progression of the Trump administration towards autocracy has been shocking. 

There are also troubling developments elsewhere. According to the Democracy Report 2025 (here) we are seeing “a truly global wave of autocratization”.

New Zealand's democracy is not under immediate threat.  Our institutions are robust.  Generally speaking, our politicians are responsible and our discourse is civil.

But we shouldn't be complacent.  Democracy is fragile and things could change.

AWNZ has therefore been established on a precautionary basis.  Our objective is to identify and draw attention to activities that have an autocratic flavour and potentially chip away at the foundations of our democracy.  A sort of early warning system if you like.

We also aim to experiment with strategies to enhance our resilience.  These will initially focus on addressing polarisation.

Who knows, perhaps knowing they are being watched would have some sort of deterrent effect on aspiring autocrats!

We are an apolitical, non-partisan and non-ideological entity. We operate on a voluntary basis and require no funding.

Mark Todd,  Founder

Auckland

August 2025