>>Who am I, your research service?

No, you're somebody making assertions about military bases connected to a nation's peace and stability.

>>There is a US military facility in NZ - the Antarctic support Harewood base at Christchurch airport. It's small and reportedly used largely as a hub, but it is still technically a base.

LOL, some would consider that an own goal. The Deep Freeze transport base is there because of the 1961 Antarctic treaty and it's more valuable to the US than to NZ because of Cold War rules that never would be allowed were the base to be relocated. Which is a big reason why it's still there. As well as proximity and logistic sense. Certainly it's not a 600 pound gorilla responsible for NZ's political or economic stability. The fact is that NZ was frozen out of military involvement with the US when NZ declared itself nuclear weapon-free in the 1980s when Reagan considered moving the base to Hobart as another sign of displeasure. That's the real military association until recently when winding down the nuclear weapon arsenal became more popular and relations began to thaw somewhat. I'd also observe that Australia stayed closely militarily aligned with the US and was part of Bush's "Coalition of the Willing" to invade Iraq in 2003, but has no US military bases at all and seems fairly stable and prosperous.

In fairness, my grandparents told me of the day they woke up in the World War to find the US White fleet in harbour and everybody celebrated because they knew they now were safe. The US has contributed hugely to global security and continues to do so- and you're right, it's easy for Europe to be at peace after the US held off the Ruskies and still maintains a presence especially in Germany. But things are changing and wars and nuclear weapons no longer make the sense they once seemed to. Certainly for NZ the chances of an invasion are practically zero as you'd have to traverse that awful Australian desert continent first and the cost would be truly vast... for what? A few million sheep protected by farmers and rural Maori who can retreat to high country and conduct guerrilla warfare indefinitely? Even for the US, realistically what is the risk of invasion- and what would they do once they arrived? Risks these days are more likely to be carried in test tubes and the best defense is to create jobs and opportunity for people whose hopelessness makes them willing to carry the test tube and enter paradise.