Posts

Rationality, Religion, and Foreign Policy Decision-Making in PNG

-
Image
By Bernard Yegiora Introduction: why decision-making models matter PNG’s foreign policy decisions have, at times, appeared inconsistent or difficult to reconcile when viewed purely through material or strategic interests. Positions taken on different international issues can seem coherent in one context and value-driven in another. This is not unusual. Foreign policy decisions everywhere are shaped by a mix of calculation, belief, domestic politics, and institutional constraints. Understanding how decisions are made therefore matters as much as evaluating what decisions are taken. This article applies insights from foreign policy analysis (FPA) to examine variation in PNG’s foreign policy decision-making across two political periods. Using PNG’s policy positions on Israel as a case study, it contrasts decision-making logics associated with the O’Neill–Pato period and the Marape–Tkachenko period. The objective is not to assess whether specific policy choices were right or wrong, but...
Post a Comment
Read more

What Pakistan’s Higher Education Cooperation with China Tells Us

-
Image
By Bernard Yegiora An annotated analysis relevant to my PhD research on China’s Higher Education Exchange Programs Bibi, S., & Amaan, S. (2022). Enhancing Pakistan–China cooperation in higher education . Journal of Higher Education and Development Studies , 2(1), 17–34. Title page and abstract of Bibi & Amaan (2022), Enhancing Pakistan–China Cooperation in Higher Education , published in the Journal of Higher Education and Development Studies (Vol. 2, Issue 1), outlining the scope of bilateral cooperation across science, engineering, medical, and social sciences within the broader China–Pakistan strategic partnership. Why this article matters to my PhD research A central question in my PhD research on China’s Higher Education Exchange Programs (HEEPs) in PNG is why some partner countries receive large-scale doctoral sponsorship from China while others experience more limited outcomes. Pakistan represents a high-visibility case in this regard. Over the past two decades, China ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What PNG Can Learn from Australia’s Pacific Research Program

-
Image
By Bernard Yegiora PNG often speaks about strengthening research capacity and improving the quality of higher education. What is less clear is how this ambition is translated into practice. One of the most effective models I have encountered comes not from PNG, but from Australia: the Pacific Research Program (PRP) administered by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The Pacific Research Program works because it treats capacity building as a system, not a slogan. It is deliberately designed around mentorship, exposure to high-quality research environments, and clear performance expectations . In doing so, it offers a practical template for how PNG could strengthen its higher education sector—if we are willing to engage with it strategically. I have participated in several PRP-supported initiatives, including the Lowy Institute Emerging Leaders Dialogue , the Pacific Research Colloquium , and the Pacific Visitor Program at the Australian National University ...
Post a Comment
Read more

PNG’s New Scholarships Sound Good — But Are Our Universities Ready?

-
Image
By Bernard Yegiora PNG’s decision to offer scholarships to students from Solomon Islands and Vanuatu appears, at first glance, to be a positive step in regional diplomacy. It signals goodwill, leadership, and people-to-people engagement. But beneath the surface, the policy exposes a deeper structural problem: PNG is expanding scholarships while its universities lack the academic capacity to sustain quality. PNG’s government announces a new scholarship programme for students from Vanuatu and Solomon Islands—an ambitious regional diplomacy move that raises important questions about university capacity, academic quality, and the long-term strategy for higher education internationalisation. The issue is not generosity. It is readiness. I am currently undertaking PhD research in International Relations, a subfield of Political Science. Yet I do not have access to a Papua New Guinean PhD-qualified mentor in Political Science or International Relations who is actively publishing in nation...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Understanding China Matters for PNG

-
Image
(A Revised Reflection) By Bernard Yegiora In May 2012, I published an article on this blog titled “The Challenge of Learning About China.” It was written at a formative stage of my engagement with China, grounded primarily in personal observation. At the time, I was living in northeast China and encountering, for the first time, the scale and speed of urban development that has since become emblematic of China’s transformation. High-rise buildings appeared within months, transport networks expanded rapidly, and entire cityscapes seemed to change almost overnight. The experience provoked curiosity rather than certainty. Harbin Ice and Snow World, 2010 — An illuminated ice sculpture at China’s annual winter festival, showcasing the scale, technical precision, and cultural symbolism of Harbin’s ice architecture, and reflecting the country’s capacity to mobilise art, engineering, and tourism as instruments of modern cultural diplomacy. More than a decade later, both China and my own ...
Post a Comment
Read more

China Is Not Winning Influence in PNG Through Roads—but Through Classrooms

-
Image
by Bernard Yegiora Public debate in PNG tends to frame China’s influence almost entirely through infrastructure, loans, and geopolitics. Roads, ports, and Belt and Road headlines dominate commentary. While these issues matter, this framing obscures where China’s most durable and cost-effective influence is actually being built. It is not being built in concrete. It is being built in classrooms.  Online Mandarin language class delivered by a language teacher from a partner Chinese university, with PNG students at the University of Goroka participating as part of higher education exchange and people-to-people cooperation. China’s long-term engagement in PNG is increasingly shaped through higher education exchange programs—scholarships, language training, and public-sector capacity building—that quietly influence skills formation, institutional familiarity, and professional networks over time. These programs receive far less public scrutiny than infrastructure projects, yet their e...
Post a Comment
Read more

From Symbolism to Implementation: A Review of the Madang–Pingtan Silk Road Partnership

-
Image
by Bernard Yegiora The media article on the Madang–Pingtan Silk Road Partnership presents a notable example of sub-national diplomacy in PNG, highlighting a sister-city style Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Madang Province and Pingtan County in China’s Fujian Province. Framed within the broader narrative of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, the agreement reflects growing interest by provincial governments in leveraging international partnerships to support local development objectives. Senior officials from Madang Province and Pingtan County formalise the Silk Road Partnership Memorandum of Understanding in Port Moresby, marking the establishment of a sister-city relationship aimed at strengthening cooperation in tourism, trade, fisheries, education, and people-to-people exchanges between PNG and China. At a descriptive level, the article outlines the signing of the MoU in Port Moresby by senior representatives from both sides. The tone is optimistic and forward-looking, ...
Post a Comment
Read more