Patrick Kaiku
Biography
Publications
Patrick Kaiku is a teaching fellow in the Political Science Department at the University of Papua New Guinea. He has been teaching at the UPNG since 2011 after completing a MA in Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa in 2010. He was also a Griffith Asia Institute Non-resident Fellow in 2022. He can be reached on LinkedIn.
Why did PNG sign a Defence Cooperation Agreement with the US?
For Port Moresby, this deal is mainly about modernising PNG’s Defence Force – not a geopolitical ploy.
A Pacific “zone of peace” – what will it entail?
An effort is underway to ensure Pacific concepts are not co-opted by geopolitical competition.
Not the Indo-Pacific: a Melanesian view on strategic competition
The states of the southwest Pacific are not interested in a zero-sum contest between the United States and China.
The missing foreign policy debate in PNG’s 2022 elections
Limited knowledge and paucity of interest is a concern, not just for local accountability but also for other countries.
PNG and the Solomon Islands-China security agreement
While respecting Solomon Islands sovereignty, regional solutions to regional problems are not yet fully exhausted.
Pacific nations send a message on Ukraine – and great power rivalries
Pacific states are watching Ukraine because their sovereignty and territorial integrity can also easily be violated.
Showcasing PNG, beyond expos and summits
A lack of strategic diplomacy and targeted foreign policy are selling the country’s immense potential short.
Refreshing American soft power in the Pacific Islands
Tales of past wars no longer resonate. The US has better stories to tell, not least of its own stumbles with democracy.
