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...