The Yegiora Files

We began by looking at human security issues 1, 2 and 3. In this post we will look at the other 4 human security issues. These 7 human security issues outlined by Lawson are connected to the 4 major theories of international relations in one way or another. The fourth issue is environmental security. Lawson (2012) states that the protection against pollution and depletion is the essence of environmental security. Pollution of our atmosphere, fresh waterways, sea and land is considered a threat to human survival. Pollution has a chain reaction feature, causing the depletion of other resources. People living along the Ramu river and its tributaries located near the nickel and cobalt mine are scared of poisonous chemicals in the waterways. The various tributaries and the big Ramu river are a vital source of food for the people. These fresh waterways contain fish and prawns which are important sources of protein. If the waterways are polluted, then the chemicals will reduce th...

Griffiths, O’Callaghan and Roach (2008) shared the basic logic of the concept of security which is to be safe from harm. The scholars shared with us that for realist the state is the primary unit of analysis in international relations. Hence, the key motive of states is to protect their sovereignty. Such a view is called the traditional state-centered approach. North Korea’s nuclear ambition is harmful to South Korea. A nuclearized North Korea will have the fire power to invade South Korea. This will be a serious threat to South Korea’s sovereignty. Thus, South Korea needs the help of its allies like America to counter the North Korean nuclear threat or enhance its security. One important trend that we need to note is the shift from the traditional state-centric approach to a more expansive understanding of the concept of security, as outlined by Griffiths, O’Callaghan and Roach (ibid.). These scholars gave two reasons for the shift: First being the fact that most violent conflict...

Yesterday, I suggested to those of you who took IR202 this semester to engage in a profiling exercise. I suggested that you should profile the teaching staff in the department. I told you that this is one way of understanding what we do in the various units we teach. Profiling according to Merriam-Webster is the act or process of extrapolating information about a person based on known traits or tendencies. Thus, the challenge is on you to collate information about us in order to better understand our teaching and learning plan or what we do in our units. We did the same for international relations scholars. You all were assigned a scholar and asked to extrapolate information about the scholar in relation to his or her theoretical premises.  For my case, by now most of you should know that I am big on reading. I want my students to read and read a lot. I believe that knowledge is contained in the many books in the library and other electronic reading resources at your disposa...

Find below my video on how to use the Twitter feed on the sidebars of our respective Moodle unit webpages. I also shared the same video on YouTube for those of you with access to YouTube.

I am motivated to continue teaching IR in light of the new opportunities presented by the online age. There are so many things I can do on cyber space to facilitate the flow of information to students in order to help them develop their understanding about IR as a sub-field of Political Science. One notable opportunity is the availability of information. We have the Lowy Institute website and many other websites belonging to research think tanks with their podcasts, videos and written analysis. The amount of information shared on a daily basis is mind blowing. We also have digital platforms like SoundCloud and YouTube. Lowy Institute has an account on SoundCloud and a channel on YouTube . On our StudentNet, you have access to SoundCloud but not YouTube. I have uploaded my podcasts onto my SoundCloud account and my videos onto my YouTube channel . At the moment it is 'work in progress'. I will need a quality video camera and voice recorder to help me create podcasts and ...

Those who are in year 2 and 3 this year, I suggest witchcraft or sorcery accusation-related violence as a potential theme for your major research. By now you all know that a key requirement of this program is research. In order to graduate, each student from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences must take two research units and submit a major research paper. The research units are; PG317 Research Methods offered in the second semester for third years, and PG427 Data Analysis and Research Report. Both units are known as Faculty units and are offered across the semester to all students enrolled in the three full-time undergraduate programs. Even though, they have the 'PG' code they are not units belonging only to the Department of PNG Studies and International Relations. Please note carefully this distinction. You are all privilege to be taught research at undergrad level. When I was a student, I had no exposure to research methodologies. Thus, I struggled greatly in...

We had a discussion on the possibility of intervention by other states and non-state actors in relation to the case of witchcraft and human rights.  We assumed that if the killings of those accused of practicing witchcraft gets out of hand, or evolves to a level that constitutes genocide or mass torture. Then the international community might see fit to intervene into our internal affair. The discussion was based on the UN Experts Workshop on Witchcraft and Human Rights held in Geneva on 21-22 September, 2017. Screenshot of article written by Forsyth and Gibbs on the DevPolicy Blog. When I read about Fr. Philip Gibbs and his presence at the workshop, I quickly thought about the English School Theory. How can I understand what is happening using the pluralist or the solidarist approach? We all drew the conclusion that the killings were not right. We said it was against international norms and laws. I talked about the 3 international crimes from genocide to cri...

Human development is a concept that is at the heart of human security . The website Measure of America defines the concept as: "the process of enlarging people’s freedoms and opportunities and improving their well-being. Human development is about the real freedom ordinary people have to decide who to be, what to do, and how to live." You can also listen to the podcast below by Selim Jahan of the Human Development Report Office on the concept of human development. The UNDP states that: "Human development – or the human development approach - is about expanding the richness of human life, rather than simply the richness of the economy in which human beings live. It is an approach that is focused on people and their opportunities and choices." The Measure of America website states that the human development concept was developed by economist Mahbub ul Haq. He argued that existing measure of human progress failed to account for the true purpos...

Our inquiry question for this week is: what is the English School Theory? The supporting questions are: is it vital to learn about the English School Theory? Why? I gave you all the required readings for the particular topic. The challenge is for you all to find time to read the required readings which will also feature in the reading quiz. We need to start reading the works of scholars who are experts in the particular theories in order to develop a sound understanding of the theories. Required readings for this week: Bellamy, A. J. (2007 ). The English School. In M. Griffiths (Ed.), International relations theory for the twenty-first century (pp. 75-87). New York: Routledge. Buzan, B. (2004). From international to world society? English school theory and the social structure of globalization . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Dunne, T. (1998). Inventing international society: a history of the English school . Great Britain: MacMillan Press Ltd.   Linklater,...

International law is a very interesting subject. Apart from being interesting, it is also very broad. There are many areas or topics that are not included in our unit outline. The challenge is for you to continue reading the eBook by Malcolm Shaw and also the other required readings. I am content that at least Miss Hamadi and I played our part by sourcing the readings for you. Thus, to fill the knowledge gap, we hope you spend some of your private time to read the eBooks we shared on Moodle. I spent 2 days listening to the IR302 International Law in International Relations podcasts. A good number of you showed progress. I believe you took note of the comments or feedback I made on your respective podcast. All of you were asked to give your responses to a question and two statements: Explain the Latin phrase 'pacta sunt servanda' in your own words Why is the UN Charter considered as one of the world's most important treaties? Explain the Latin phrase 'o...

Once again the Department will need a sound proof room in order for us to produce our podcasts and videos. Please do not mind the background noise. Below is my review of the IR302 group presentations so far.

IR202 students please listen to my reflection on your presentations so far. I hope to see progress. I will continue to share my reflections aimed at helping you develop our respective graduate attributes. I really learnt a lot about the different concepts. All of you did well to collate information but will need to now read more academic materials. Please visit the IR section in the Friendship library to see the different books on offer. Apologies for the background noise. The Department will need an audiovisual room to cater for podcasting.

Today, for IR431, we had a really critical discussion on what Australia is doing on Manus Island. The discussion came after viewing the video on the Journeyman Pictures channel on YouTube titled: 'Australia's Secret Migration Detention Centre'. In the next few days you will be working on your personal opinion on Australia's offshore detention centres. I look forward to reading some of the points you mentioned verbally in class today. Please note the questions for consideration: What is your understanding of Australia's offshore detention centres? Do you agree or disagree with Australia's approach? Why do you agree or disagree with Australia's approach? What would be your suggested solution? I like how you connected the case to your selected human security issues. We all know by now that we have 7 main human security categories according to the Human Development Report 1994 : Economic security Food security Health security Environmental secur...

We cannot study international relations without understanding international law. International law gives the study and practice of international relations its legal structure. States and non-state actors are questioned about their actions in reference to various international laws. Goldstein (2005) says that international law and international norms limit state sovereignty. States are supposed to be sovereign and whatever they do within their sovereign territory should not be questioned. On the other hand, for those in IR302, Raffo and her colleagues (2007) talked about the realist view of international law. International law is used by powerful countries to achieve their own interest. Let us go back to the feudal system during the period where monarchs ruled over their subjects. No one dared to question the king if he wanted someone's wife or land. Monarchs were sovereign and had the power do do whatever they wanted with no limitation. When you look at the notion of sovere...

An academic paper or presentation is distinguish by one's ability to reference well. In-text and end text references help validate your analysis of a particular topic. I was surprised that many of you used information from websites like Wikipedia to reference your presentation instead of reading the wonderful books in the library, journal articles from the online database and eBooks via the links provided by the library. The books I downloaded and shared in our reading folders in all 3 units are from the website recommended by the librarians. I also used our online database to help me gain more knowledge relating to our units or topics. It is time we make good use of our access to the internet by sourcing credible sources to help us write well or to support our oral presentations. You are all privilege to have access to such information or resources. When I was doing my undergrad and honors, I had a really hard time using online resources. I was able t...