The Yegiora Files

Throughout history we have read about the many heroes or heroines who changed the course of history. Almost all of them are human beings and not reptiles or amphibians. Thus, human beings are like fuel in a car that makes the car move or like flour in a cake. This understanding is the starting point for our discussion on foreign policy analysis. According to Hudson (2007, p. 4), foreign policy analysis is the study of human decision makers acting singly or in groups. Acting singly in a position of authority and power a human being like the President of the United States of America has the capability to make a decision that will change the world. This is evident is the current case involving the sanctions on Russian diplomats and intelligence officers. The accusation that the Russians influenced the outcome of the US presidential election prompted Barrack Obama to make such a decision.  To understand the factors that influence a single decision maker one must refer to the indivi...

Vision 2050 strategic plan Sustainable Development Goals Connection Directional and enabling statement under international relations about increasing its bilateral relations with states and international organizations. Goal 17: Strengthening the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for development. Capacity-building - 17.9 Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the sustainable development goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation Knowledge of theories and concepts in international relations will help increase bilateral relations and strengthen cooperation to implement sustainable development goal 17. Directional and enabling statement under national security about PNG allocating funds to national security forces to guard our sea, land and air borders from external threats. Goal 16: Promote pe...

As defined by Oxford (2003) international law is “a set of rules generally recognize by civilized nations as governing their conduct towards each other and towards each other’s citizens” . This definition gives us a good understanding of how this unit is connected to the program because it talks about rules governing the behaviour of nations. Apart from other strands within the program, the international relations strand is a very strong strand with around 9 units. The field of international relations is defined by Goldstein (2005) as; “The relationships among the world’s state governments and the connection of those relationships with other actors (such as the United Nations, multinational corporations, and individuals), with other social relationships (including economic, culture and domestic politics), and with geographic and historical influences” (p. 556). In international relations, nations operate in an anarchic system where there is no central form of authority unlike the...

Public international law is interesting. There are no legislative bodies to make international laws and no judicial bodies to interpret and extend the law. This problem stems from the anarchic nature of the international system and the competing nature of sovereign states. To better understand we go back to the Westphalian principle of legal equality, no state is more powerful than the other hence anarchy and unavoidable competition.     Goldstein (2005) in conjunction with Article 38 of the Statue of the International Court of Justice outlines the four sources of international law: treaties (conventions), custom, general principles of law (such as equity), and legal scholarship (including past judicial decisions).    …..“Treaties and other written conventions signed by states are the most important source. International treaties now fill more than a thousand thick volumes, with tens of thousands of individual agreements. There is a principle in international law t...

The international arena composes of many actors. State and non-state actors are the two important actors that operate within the boundaries of the Western-oriented international system. According to Griffiths, O’Callaghan and Roach (2008) there are two kinds of international law. One is referred to as private international law and the other one is public international law. Also referred to as conflict law by Shaw (2009), private is concerned with the resolution of international disputes between individuals and companies. According to Shaw (ibid), “if two Englishmen make a contract in France to sell goods situated in Paris, an English court would apply French laws as regards the validity of that contract” . Griffiths, O’Callaghan and Roach (2008) define public international law as laws that govern relations between states like claims for territory, use of the sea, arms control and human rights. Shaw (2009) also adds that public international law regulates the operations of the many...

In the game of pool one’s objective is to sink his or her balls and the black ball before their opponent in order to win the game. One uses the white ball to hit all the other balls into the hole. The collision and interaction between the different balls on the pool table determine the outcome of the game. The balls do not move themselves but are moved by people playing the game using a specially made stick. The international system is like a pool table. According to Griffiths, O’Callaghan and Roach (2008); states, non-state actors and individuals are like the different balls. Through their political, economic and social interaction these actors shape the world we live in. States like the United States of America, United Kingdom, France, Russia, India, China, Japan, Germany and Australia are very influential because of their economy. How a country manages its economy determine its military capacity and political power. From one of the poorest nation to an economic powerhouse, Chin...

Incorporating social media into the teaching and learning process is a new experience for me. Especially, the use of Facebook which is a very popular social media site. Before using Facebook, I began with blogs and then Twitter . Students were asked to read an article related to the topic covered in the unit on the PNG Attitude blog and then share their comment. I went through their comments to grade their understanding of the topic and article.   This year (2016), in the second semester, I made the decision to create Facebook groups and name them after my units. I created 6 groups, 3 for semester 1 units and 3 for semester 2 units. I asked via the instructions in the learning guides for students to open a Facebook account using their real name or the name on their certificates. I made it clear that I did not want them to use any nick names or pseudonym. After creating an account, I asked them to add me as a friend on Facebook. After accepting their friend request, I add...