The Yegiora Files

Liberal internationalism is defined by Griffiths, O'Callaghan and Roach (2008, p. 190) as a project to transform international relations so that they conform to models of peace, freedom, and prosperity allegedly enjoyed within constitutional liberal democracies.  The same scholars go further by dividing liberalism into 3 distinct groups. They say these are the three ways to implement the project. The way they present liberal internationalism as a project makes their work interesting. Firstly, commercial liberalism is about free trade between states. States bilaterally or multilaterally via a platform like APEC pursue the goal of trade liberalization. Griffiths, O'Callaghan and Roach (ibid.) stated that economic interdependence would decrease the likelihood of going to war.  Republican liberalism is about democratic peace. Griffiths, O'Callaghan and Roach (ibid.) stated that; the spread of democracy among states so that governments will be accountable to their c...

It is very disappointing to note that many of you have not mastered the art of doing APA referencing. So the big question is, did you learn about APA referencing in the skills unit taught in year 1 (PG115)? Why is it difficult to be accurate when using the APA referencing format? Referencing is an integral part of academic writing. The University of Adelaide defines referencing as acknowledging the sources of information that you have used in your written work. Since you have 24 hours access to the internet you can consult other sources to compare and contrast. In our context, written work means your glossary posts, forum posts, write ups or essays. For IR202, the expectation is for you to reference accurately the other sources of information you used to help you understand the definition shared by your peers in 2017. Many of you have done a lazy job in referencing. The task itself is an academic task and not a letter written to your pen pal in New Zealand or some other place. A...

In our IR202 class yesterday, we listened to presentations on two important concepts in international relations; 'Balance of power' and 'national interest'. One disadvantage that I mentioned when commenting on both presentations is the presenters inability to come for consultation. Consultation is defined generally as a meeting for deliberation, discussion, or decision . It is also explained as seeking and giving of advise, information, and/or opinion, usually involving a consideration .  Furthermore, the University of Tasmania gives an explanation of student learning consultation. The consultation with a student learning adviser supports you to develop the academic skills you need to succeed in your study, such as: assignment writing, exam preparations, referencing, numeracy and English language skills. Each of you have goals that you want to achieve academically. Some of you want to work hard so you can be given a TESAS scholarship. Some of you, your goa...

Group one decided to do a video presentation on their assigned case. They got help from students from the Department of Communication Arts. I thought their video presentation was creative and well directed. I am sure they developed the key graduate attributes of communication, research and information technology during the planning and production of their video presentation. They experienced some technical hiccups relating to the quality of the sound and submission of their write up. I am confident that they will learn from these experiences and improve. Here is a preview of their work.

We have watched two different videos relating to the topic for this week. One talked about APEC and the possibility of it becoming one of the hottest regional organization in th is century . The other talked about the staging of the APEC leaders summit focusing on the competition between Australia and China . I would like you to discuss and present your argument in relation to the proposition for this week in our next class. The proposition is: "The PNG government should spend more money to develop various facilities in Port Moresby that will be used for the APEC leaders meeting in November 2018." In order to argue constructively, you will need to first understand APEC as a regional bloc. The APEC website is informational. Also, we have in our reading folder, on our unit website, the required readings for this week (week 6). I would like to argue for the proposition. The PNG government with the help of its partners like Australia and China should continue to build var...