David Dickens is a former Deputy-Director and then Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies New Zealand from 2000-2002. He succeeded Terence O'Brien and preceded Peter Cozens. Over the period 1999 - 2002, Dickens took the view that New Zealand was becoming a strategic liability to Australia and should definitely purchase the 28 F-16 fighter planes that were being offered for sale to New Zealand from the United States. Dickens believed New Zealand was a country which was rapidly developing a Third World defence force. He was dismissed in 2002 from his post by the Labour government. He is now a journalist with the Dominion-Post newspaper in Wellington. Dickens has written a well-regarded PhD thesis on New Zealand's involvement in the Vietnam War.
