NEW ZEALAND –
Concerns contemporary development in Maori as well as this nation’s aspirations for greater autonomy. Mason Durie offers a detailed account of Maori’s legislative efforts at self-determination by highlighting the legal battles and conflicting attitudes between Maori and the Crown. Environmental management, issues related to the retention of language and culture, Maori representation in Parliament, and the Treaty of Waitangi are among the topics covered in this balanced and reasonable socio-political assessment. Industry Reviews `The book is well produced. Durie’s command of the detail and diversity of documents, including the continually changing government policies on Maori, is a particular strength. This is an invaluable record of the assertion by one indigenous group of its own claim to autonomy, mana motuhake, in relation to hitherto uncontestable sovereignty, kawanatanga, of a western state.’ Michael P.J. Reilly, Australian Journal of Political Science.