Teaching PNG’s First Foreign Policy: Economic Interests at the Core

Lesson 3 in the Foreign Policy in PNG unit focuses on one of the most critical dimensions of the country’s early diplomacy: the economic interest behind its first foreign policy. The Moodle lesson is designed not just to present information but to actively engage students through a carefully sequenced mix of content pages, multiple-choice questions, true/false items, and short essays. This structure ensures that students absorb the historical detail, test their comprehension, and reflect critically on the role of national interest in shaping PNG’s external posture.

Moodle Lesson 3: Economic Interest Behind First Foreign Policy — a structured mix of content, quizzes, and essays guiding students through the role of economics, scholars, and leaders like Somare and Ako in shaping PNG’s early foreign policy.

The lesson begins with the page titled “Economic interest behind first foreign policy.” This section introduces students to the conceptual framework for understanding how states formulate foreign policy, drawing on scholars like Holsti and Premdas. By grounding the discussion in typologies—such as isolationism, non-alignment, and alliances—the page equips students with analytical tools before zooming in on PNG’s specific choice of non-alignment at independence. The content is structured to highlight how economic considerations were central to this decision, setting the stage for deeper exploration.

Following this, the “Scholars” page reinforces the academic foundations. Students are introduced to key thinkers, including Premdas (1976), who argued that national interest can be broken down into security, economic, ideological, and political components, and Mitna (2018), who emphasized the enduring economic drivers of PNG’s foreign policy. The multichoice quiz attached to this page challenges students to identify and recall the contributions of these scholars, helping to embed the theoretical scaffolding that underpins the lesson.

The lesson then drills down into Mitna’s arguments with two dedicated pages. “Mitna 1” offers a true/false activity that tests comprehension of his key claim—that PNG’s dependence on aid and limited domestic revenue base constrained its ability to pursue an independent foreign policy. “Mitna 2” is more open-ended, asking students to write an essay response. This ensures that students go beyond rote learning to articulate, in their own words, how economic dependence shaped foreign policy decisions in PNG’s first decade of independence.

The second half of the lesson shifts focus from scholars to political leadership, beginning with “Somare the diplomat.” This content page highlights Michael Somare’s role in crafting and projecting PNG’s early foreign policy. It situates him as both a statesman and strategist, whose embrace of “Friends to all, enemies to none” was underpinned by pragmatic economic calculations. The follow-up activities—“Somare 1” (multichoice), “Somare 2” (true/false), and “Somare 3” (essay)—scaffold student engagement, moving from simple recall to analytical writing about Somare’s diplomatic balancing act.

The lesson concludes with a section on “Ako,” which draws attention to contemporary analysis of PNG’s foreign policy. This content page underscores how later commentators have assessed the early decisions and their long-term implications. The sequence of activities—“Ako 1” (multichoice), “Ako 2” (true/false), and “Ako 3” (essay)—mirrors the earlier structure but invites students to connect past and present. By ending the lesson here, students are encouraged to see foreign policy history not as static but as an evolving discourse that continues to inform PNG’s strategic choices today.

Lesson 3 structure in Moodle: from Mitna’s analysis to Somare’s diplomacy and Ako’s reflections, combining content pages with multichoice, true/false, and essay activities to scaffold student learning on PNG’s first foreign policy.

Pedagogically, the design of Lesson 3 reflects a deliberate balance between content delivery and active learning. Each content page introduces a key theme or actor, while the attached quizzes and essays provide immediate opportunities for students to test knowledge, apply concepts, and practice critical thinking. The rhythm of alternating between factual recall and analytical tasks keeps students engaged while reinforcing deeper learning outcomes.

Ultimately, Lesson 3 serves two purposes. First, it teaches students the economic basis of PNG’s first foreign policy, demonstrating how aid dependency, trade priorities, and development needs drove early choices. Second, it models how to study foreign policy through a structured analytical framework, combining theory, history, and leadership. By the end of the lesson, students should not only understand why PNG embraced non-alignment in 1975 but also appreciate the enduring relevance of economic interest in shaping national strategy.