Threats and engagement in world affairs: The Halifax International Security Forum survey

Ipsos survey for Halifax International Security Forum finds 70% of people, on average, across 30 countries expect in the next 25 years we could see another world conflict involving superpowers similar to World Wars I & II. The New Zealand result is consistent with these findings (70%).

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.

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