Threats and engagement in world affairs: The Halifax International Security Forum survey
New Ipsos polling conducted on behalf of the Halifax Security Forum across 30 countries from Sept. 22 and Oct. 6, 2023, (right before the Israel-Hamas war started on Oct. 7, 2023) finds the vast majority (-one percentage point to 84% on average globally and in New Zealand) say that the world became a more dangerous over the past year. The five biggest perceived threats for New Zealanders are:
- A natural disaster occurring
- Being hacked for fraudulent or espionage purposes
- A nuclear, biological or chemical attack taking place somewhere in the world
- A major health epidemic break out
- A terrorist attack taking place
And while the majority of New Zealanders believe our government can respond effectively to a health epidemic, natural disaster or terrorist attack, less than half believe they have the appropriate levels of security and protection against hacking or a nuclear, biological or chemical attack.
Artificial Intelligence
In terms of AI, New Zealanders are more likely than the global country average to believe it will become a threat to world peace, and less likely to believe AI will help nations get along better.
Globalisation
The majority of New Zealanders believe that free trade is beneficial for our economy, higher than the global country average. We also have one of the highest levels of agreement that globalisation is good for our country amongst the developed nations.
