Undercurrents Ep. #11: What does the right really want?
Watch the latest episode of Undercurrents on the fracturing of the political right, the rise of ‘anti-woke’ politics, and the forces reshaping New Zealand politics.
A decade ago, when Donald Trump first came to power and Britain voted to Brexit, it was tempting to think that it couldn't happen here. New Zealand, we liked to think, was different.
But ten years on, that view looks increasingly complacent.
Around the world, the old centre-right is in crisis as far-right movements grow in strength. Here in New Zealand, National is no longer the force it once was. Once-fringe culture-war issues have moved into the mainstream while the government pursues an agenda of austerity and deregulation.
What, then, is driving the new right? What are the different ideological currents that make up the right today? And beneath the rhetoric, whose interests do they really serve?
In the latest episode of Undercurrents, Ollie Neas is joined by political commentator Bryce Edwards and Massey University associate professor Sean Phelan to discuss the state of the New Zealand right in 2026.
They discuss the crisis of neoliberalism, the rise of ‘anti-woke’ politics, the relationship between culture wars and economic interests, and whether New Zealand is witnessing the emergence of a genuinely new right – or simply a new iteration of an older political project.
Watch the full conversation below and subscribe to Public Interest for more discussions making sense of politics and power in Aotearoa.
This episode was edited by Gilbert Patten-Elliott.
