Relevance of studying IR
It is encouraging to see that many of you taking this program dream of becoming diplomats. You dream that one day you will be called upon to serve this nation as a foreign service officer, high commissioner or ambassador.
These dreams should trigger in you a desire to excel in this program. You should read carefully my unit learning guide and read the required readings in order to grow your knowledge. The key word is 'read', you all know the meaning of this word.
The only impediments to realizing your dream is poor time management and lack of discipline. However, I cannot tell you what to do and what not to do in detail because at this level you should be able to think for yourselves. What I can do is tell you about the importance of the IR component of this program in line with our topic for this week in the unit IR202 Theories of IR.
Pillar 4 of Vision 2050 talks about security and international relations. The vision statement on the need ensure that PNG's foreign policy reflects its national interest is connected to our discussion thus far on the importance of understanding the theories of IR.
We heard Dr. Charles Hermann tell Dave McIntyer in the audiovisual file that it is important to understand theory because that is what drives policy. To fulfil the vision statement on foreign policy and national interest you as a student of IR and a future public policy maker need to understand the theories of IR.
A foreign policy is defined as a plan or guide outlining how we as a state will interact with other states and non state actors in the international system. Our interaction is driven by our national interest. As a nation, we have security, economic, political and ideological interests.
In addition, Merriam-Webster says that it is the policy of a sovereign state in its interaction with other sovereign states. This definition needs to be updated because due to globalization non-state actors have become significant players in international politics.
We can use the classroom analogy to help us understand foreign policy. A classroom has four corners and a door. Inside the classroom how we interact depends on our interest. You are interested to learn about IR theories thus you choose to sit quietly regardless of how hot the room is. My interest is to share what I know with you in order to fulfil my contractual obligation. I am also interested in developing future leaders of this nation.
Another vision statement that we can use to help us understand the relevance of IR is the one on the need to increase bilateral relations with the rest of the world and with international organizations. Understanding the theories of IR provides the basis for determining which states or international organizations are of use to us.
We go back to the example of APEC I gave in my last post. APEC as an intergovernmental regional organization (type of international organization) operates in line with the liberal theory of IR. In particular, trade liberalization is a central component of commercial liberalism.
Our involvement in APEC is based on economic interest. We want to trade freely what we have and secure what we do not have from other economies in the region in order to improve the quality of life.
Please read the article titled 'Vision 2050, SDGs and IR' including the other titled 'Importance of IR theories and Vision 2050'.
These dreams should trigger in you a desire to excel in this program. You should read carefully my unit learning guide and read the required readings in order to grow your knowledge. The key word is 'read', you all know the meaning of this word.
The only impediments to realizing your dream is poor time management and lack of discipline. However, I cannot tell you what to do and what not to do in detail because at this level you should be able to think for yourselves. What I can do is tell you about the importance of the IR component of this program in line with our topic for this week in the unit IR202 Theories of IR.
Pillar 4 of Vision 2050 talks about security and international relations. The vision statement on the need ensure that PNG's foreign policy reflects its national interest is connected to our discussion thus far on the importance of understanding the theories of IR.
We heard Dr. Charles Hermann tell Dave McIntyer in the audiovisual file that it is important to understand theory because that is what drives policy. To fulfil the vision statement on foreign policy and national interest you as a student of IR and a future public policy maker need to understand the theories of IR.
In addition, Merriam-Webster says that it is the policy of a sovereign state in its interaction with other sovereign states. This definition needs to be updated because due to globalization non-state actors have become significant players in international politics.
We can use the classroom analogy to help us understand foreign policy. A classroom has four corners and a door. Inside the classroom how we interact depends on our interest. You are interested to learn about IR theories thus you choose to sit quietly regardless of how hot the room is. My interest is to share what I know with you in order to fulfil my contractual obligation. I am also interested in developing future leaders of this nation.
Another vision statement that we can use to help us understand the relevance of IR is the one on the need to increase bilateral relations with the rest of the world and with international organizations. Understanding the theories of IR provides the basis for determining which states or international organizations are of use to us.
We go back to the example of APEC I gave in my last post. APEC as an intergovernmental regional organization (type of international organization) operates in line with the liberal theory of IR. In particular, trade liberalization is a central component of commercial liberalism.
Please read the article titled 'Vision 2050, SDGs and IR' including the other titled 'Importance of IR theories and Vision 2050'.
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