New Zealand / Aotearoa

Kotahitanga

kotahitanga — te reo Māori

unity in action; collective action among distinct groups while preserving their mana, voice and autonomy

Resilience Mechanism

Resilience grows when people and groups can act together around a shared purpose without giving up their own identity or authority. Kotahitanga turns unity into practice through relationships, mutual respect, shared decision-making and accountability for collective action.

What It Means

Kotahitanga is a te reo Māori concept associated with unity, oneness and acting together.

Kotahi means “one”, “single” or “united”, and the wider concept can describe people or groups working collectively towards a shared purpose. It may operate within whānau, hapū, iwi, organisations or partnerships among different groups

Kotahitanga also has a specific historical and political tradition: the term has been used for diverse movements seeking greater Māori unity. It should therefore not be reduced to a generic synonym for teamwork or used simply as an abstract slogan of togetherness.

How It Works in a Crisis

When a challenge exceeds the capacity of one group, Kotahitanga can create a basis for collective action.

Participants identify a shared purpose, combine knowledge, resources and capacity and make decisions together. Crucially, partnership should not begin only after one party has already defined the problem, the rules and the structure of the response. The expert contribution emphasises co-construction from the outset, meaningful participation in decision-making and accountability between participants. Unity therefore does not erase differences among those involved; it allows them to coordinate action while retaining their own voice, mana and identity.

What happens

A complex challenge requires several autonomous groups to act
What we focus on

Shared purpose, relationships and recognition of each party’s mana
How we act

Decisions are co-designed and knowledge, resources and authority are shared
What it gives

Coordinated action without loss of identity or autonomy

A Lesson for Other Countries

Unity becomes a resilience resource not when everyone is declared part of a single whole, but when different participants have a genuine capacity to act together.

his requires relationships, trust, a clear shared purpose and meaningful participation in decisions. Kotahitanga also highlights the importance of how partnership is created: inviting one group only after others have already defined the problem and the solution does not create genuine collective action.

Resilience is stronger when cooperation is built from the outset and participants can influence both decisions and the use of resources.

Єдність працює тоді, коли люди можуть діяти разом, не відмaUnity works when people can act together without surrendering their own voice and identity.

Where It Comes From

Kotahitanga is a traditional Māori concept, but it acquired particular political significance during the nineteenth century as different Māori groups sought ways to coordinate action amid colonisation, land loss and a changing political order. These movements were not a single uniform project: some were religious, while others focused on political representation, protest or social issues. At different points, unity initiatives included Māori parliaments and other forms of pan-Māori organisation. This history matters because Kotahitanga does not require iwi or hapū to disappear into a single identity; it can describe collective action among groups that retain their own leadership, relationships and identity.

What It Looks Like Today

Today, Kotahitanga is used across Māori, educational, community and organisational settings to describe unity and collective action. One practical example is the Kotahitanga mō te Taiao Alliance: a partnership involving iwi Māori, local councils, public agencies and other participants working around environmental protection and shared ecological challenges. Here, Kotahitanga functions not only as a value but as a way of organising cooperation: participants bring together different forms of knowledge, resources and institutional capacity around a common purpose. The example also illustrates why the quality of relationships and genuine participation in decisions matter as much as the formal existence of a partnership.

Limits of the Concept

Kotahitanga should not be turned into a universal “we are all one” slogan or presented as a characteristic of everyone in New Zealand.

It is a te reo Māori concept rooted in te ao Māori and in specific Māori histories. Its use should not erase differences among iwi and hapū or obscure unequal authority between partners. Formal consultation is also insufficient when one party is invited only after the key decisions have already been made. In relationships involving Māori, the Crown and public institutions, the wider context of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, mana and rangatiratanga should remain visible rather than using the language of unity to avoid questions of authority and representation. Historical Kotahitanga movements were themselves diverse and did not express a single Māori position.

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