The Yegiora Files

One hallmark of foreign policy analysis as a sub field of international relations is 'multilevel' according to Valerie Hudson and others. It is important to understand how the different variables at the individual, state, or system level of analysis affect the foreign policy decision making process. The focus of this article is on the roles played by political executives including the bureaucracy at the state level of analysis. These human decision makers do not operate in a vacuum but function in a legalized political system. The nature of legalized political systems varies when comparing one state to another.  In PNG, we are more familiar with the Westminster political system. For example, Section 142 (1) of the PNG Constitution established the office of the Prime Minister and mentioned the role of the Head of State (Governor General). An elected parliament is another key body that is mentioned together with political parties. These offices and bodies are key elements in a ...

At the moment, the news about the second case in East New Britain Province is causing panic and anxiety among citizens. I am anxious as I ponder about the possibility of the virus spreading in Madang and the future of my nuclear and extended family members. Stephanie Lawson talked about the 7 human security issues in her book titled 'International relations' . In 2018, I wrote 2 blog articles to help my students develop a basic understanding of human security. The first article talked about the first 3 human security issues, and the second article talked about the last 4 human security issues. Her discussions were derived from the Human Development Report published by the UNDP in 1994. The Report outlined the changing trend in security studies where security was no longer an issue of states defending themselves against other states evident in the Cold War. The traditional state-centric approach was replaced by a human centric conceptualization of security. The 7 hu...

The extension to the State of Emergency (SOE) for another 2 months has opened the door for higher learning institutions around the country to consider using electronic Learning Management Systems. Moodle is an open source learning platform that can be used by any higher learning institution with good internet connection. Work on the Kumul Submarine Cable will enable higher learning institutions to have access to high speed internet. The COVID-19 pandemic might act as a catalyst to increase the pace of the work done by PNG Dataco at the moment. The Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (DHERST) has already done the ground work by signing an MOU with PNG Dataco to provide internet to all higher learning institutions in PNG. Apart from having access to online data bases for research purposes, the most important thing at this point in time is the use Moodle to facilitate learning and teaching by other higher learning institutions. Divi...

The confusion now for me is in regards to what the Constitution says about the declaration of national emergencies in comparison to the steps taken by the Marape-Davis Government yesterday (22/3/2020). My discussion about the Constitution in this article is from a political point of view, it will be good to hear or read legal opinions of lawyers about the matter. Section 228(1) of the Constitution states that if the National Executive (NEC) is of the opinion that an emergency exists or is about to come into being then the Head of State (Governor General) in accordance with advice of the NEC may publicly declare the existence of a national emergency in relation to the whole or part of the country. Section 228(2) states that unless it is impracticable to do so, the declaration under Subsection (1) shall be made in relation to part of the country only prior to consultation with the Emergency Committee.  The official statement from the Office of the Prime Minister released yes...

The  theory of liberalism talks about the importance of using international law to regulate the behaviour of states and non-state actors to maintain peace and ensure cooperation. Liberals have adopted the understanding of how law works in the domestic system to idealize a similar scenario in a community made up of states and non-state actors. Goldstein (2005, p. 101) states that the long tradition of idealism (liberalism) holds that: morality, law and international organization can form the basis of relations among states. He said that human nature is not evil, idealists (liberalists) believe that peaceful and cooperative relations among states are possible. Furthermore, states can operate as a community rather than merely as autonomous self-interested agents.  In the theory of realism, states use power to pursue their own interest in the context of an anarchic system lacking central enforcement mechanisms according to Goldstein (ibid.). He said power capabilities c...