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Regional Architecture in South Pacific

Class at Faculty of Social Sciences |
JPM934

Syllabus

REGIONAL ARCHITERCTURE IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC  

Course lecturer

(PhDr. T. Tökölyová, PhD. – tokolyova.vsmvv@gmail.com)  

Course Description:

This course is a part of international relations course and introduces the students the Pacific region, especially Australia and New Zealand and their foreign policies and position within international politics. The course is organized into five lectures and some specific subfields connected with discussion of current developments with the South Pacific countries reflecting the cultural, social, historical and economic aspects of the region´s development and challenges. The seminars predominantly take the form of class discussions of the reading materials.  

ASSESSMENT         

Active involvement – 10%

Analytical paper– 90%  

Active involvement at the meetings – how the student has fulfilled the given tasks for the following seminar (team work is possible in case of higher number of students; e.g. prepared/found newspaper articles on specific topic, power point presentations,…).  

Analytical paper

Students shall write 1 analytical paper of 10 standard pages in length on the given topics. This paper should critically discuss one of the reading materials below or topics discussed during lectures/seminars. Paper should be submitted by December 10th on tokolyova.vsmvv@gmail.com.

Instructions for students before writing the analytical paper:

The analytical paper should demonstrate that you are able to work with the literature and that you are capable of developing your own argument. The paper should be analytical, not descriptive. It is crucial that you choose a topic that interests you based on the list given by the lecturer. While writing the papers you are required to undertake a significant body of research beyond the seminar materials.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism constitutes the most serious academic offence. Plagiarism will result, at best, in your failing the course, depending on level of its seriousness. Please, see in the relevant sources all the required to prevent from such situations.    

Evaluation scale:

A (100 – 91)

B (90 – 81)

C (80 – 73)

D (72 – 66)

E (65 – 60)                                       

Lecture/ topic  

Date

Topic

XXX   Introduction. Main challenges and development of the PICs (Pacific Island

Countries)  

XXX   Role of the main stakeholders - New Zealand as important

Pacific actor- ODA, concept of transnational citizenship  

XXX   Role of the main stakeholders - Australia as important

Pacific actor- ODA, defence and security guarantee. China, USA, EU, etc.  

XXX   Role of the main stakeholders - sub-regional cooperation - introduction.

Pacific Island Forum – current developments. Role of Fiji.  

XXX   Role of the main stakeholders - dynamics of the current Asia- Pacific cooperation. Regional organizations within the Pacific region. APEC- open regionalism. Role of ASEAN in the South-Pacific development   japan – pacific islands https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2xFVkya_RM   china: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r06pwSAXkcY  

PIF https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/02/pacific-islands-forum-what-is-it-and-why-have-some-media-been-banned   1.      Introduction. Development of the PICs (Pacific Island Countries) –Main Challenges.  

Objective of the lecture:

The lecture is to point out at significant characteristics of the PICs focusing mainly on development support to PICs as 11 from 15 Pacific countries are small developing islands. ODA represents one of the most significant frameworks of this trans-regional cooperation as it comprises an important source of national income for these islands- supporting program is highly needed because of the nature of the region and problems it is facing. This matter is directly interlinked with many other destabilising factors as instable political situation; not well established system of political parties evoking the fact that parliamentary politics is often volatile then; and in many countries of these countries a turnover of national leaders is quite high, and this affects the durability of the programmes of economic reform. The lecture includes integration of the South Pacific, migration patterns, regional identity - cultural regionalism - specific features of Pacific regionalism (i.e. Pacific way and the lessons taken by now, as PIF, Pacific plan, etc.) reflecting the main aspects of the Pacific regionalism.    

Recommended reading: 1.      Statement of Intent 2009–2012 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand. Wellington 2009. ISSN: 1176-2470. pp. 1-64.

Strategic Intentions 2017 - 2021 Ministry Of Foreign Affairs And Trade of New Zealand. Wellington. 2017. p. 5 3.      Pacific Focus Global Reach." 2014. 2013 Year in Review: New Zealand Action for International Development. New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Available online at: http://www.aid.govt.nz/media-and-publications/publications#yir. retrieved: 20.03.2017 4.      "Pacific Islands People (Census 96)." 1996. Reference Reports. Available online at: http://www2.stats.govt.nz/domino/external/pasfull/pasfull.nsf/web/Reference+Reports+Pacific+Islands+People+(Census+96)+1996?open. retrieved: 4.9.2014 5.      Macpherson, [Cluny]. 1998. "Would the Real Samoans Please Stand Up? " New Zealand Geographer 55,no. 2:50-59 6.      Miller, [David]. 1995. "Reflections on British national identity. " Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 21, no. 2: 153-166

Spoonley, [Paul]. 2000. Reinventing Polynesia: The Cultural Politics of Transnational Pacific Communities. Humanities and Social Sciences Massey University - Albany. 38pp. Available online at: http://www.transcomm.ox.ac.uk/working%20papers/Spoonleywp.PDF.

The Largest Pacific Peoples Group in New Zealand. Statistics of New Zealand 2006. available online at: http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/1996-census-data/pacific-peoples-living-in-nz/largest-pacific-peoples-group-in-nz.aspx. retrieved: 20.02.2017

Walrond, C.: South Pacific Peoples – Early Migration. Te Ara – the Encyklopedia of New Zealand. 2005. Available online at:  URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/south-pacific-peoples. retrieved: 02.04.2013

M. Anne Brown (2006): Development And Security In The Pacific Island Region. International Peace Academy 2006. Available online at:  https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Anne_Brown15/publication/43478403_Security_and_Development_in_the_Pacific_Islands/links/5796bc8d08ae33e89fad8bf9/Security-and-Development-in-the-Pacific-Islands.pdf        

Role of the Main Stakeholders - New Zealand as Important Pacific Actor- ODA, Concept of Transnational Citizenship  

Objective of the lecture:  

The Pacific was always central to New Zealand’s security, defence and diplomatic policies as it faces major challenges. Tensions in the region were caused by the disagreements over