Corruption, Stomach Politics and Desperation: Reality in Oceania
About the author: Graham Chernik’24 is an FSI Large Research Grant recipient. Graham is currently majoring in International Relations at Stanford University.
You cannot truly learn about a culture or digest genuine opinion without experiencing the causes and effects firsthand.
The odds were stacked against me. I started my research by seeking to learn how security agreements, in the form of foreign military engagement and access allotment, were being made in small and seemingly inconsequential Oceania states. Enthralled by the rising geopolitical concerns of a Sino-U.S. conflict, I questioned motivations of the Pacific to align with Beijing instead of Washington or vice a versa. Was it related to existential security? Was it due to economic investment? What has caused the proliferation of penned agreements in Oceania?
But I could not plan this trip to save my life. From August 15th to September 8th, I traveled to the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Palau to interview policymakers, politicians, academics, and economists alike to determine the causal relationship between bilateral security agreements. I selected these three states as case studies based on their relational differences but geographic similarity amidst a growing geopolitical issue in the Pacific. Flights and itinerary plans were the least of my concern; I had not one meeting scheduled for my fieldwork as I arrived in my first country, the Solomon Islands. As was the problem with a lack of email responses to my inquiries or a gap in connections through my Stanford network, I was on my own. This was the mantra for the entire trip. I had never felt so much uncertainty. Would I even find people to interview in these states? Was my initial literature review and dispense of funds to fly thousands of miles going to go to waste?
I could not have been more wrong. Initiative and confidence. That is how my fieldwork became successful. Once I touched down in each country, I networked like hell to find interviewees. I walked into offices and claimed I had a meeting scheduled. I appeared at popular brunch places of local elites and joined them for meals. I knocked on homes of politicians preparing to fly out of the country. I went from one participant to their cousin who served in another sector of government, to their father who was a former president all while holding down one table at a café. Cold-calling on LinkedIn, rifling through phonebooks and pleading with front-desk secretaries became a norm. Did the elevator pitch of my research open doors? Yes. But being the American student who traveled all the way to each participant’s country worked far better in securing the intrigue and time for an interview. Interviews piled up and, by the trip’s end, totaled over 30, including members of aforementioned sectors as well as those possessing immense knowledge of civil society. Was I worried without any plans initially? Incredibly. But by the grace of God it all fell into place.
In the U.S., one would NEVER be able to secure impromptu meetings, all-access brunches or invites to get drinks with high-profile members of society. That does not exist in Western society and certainly not for students. But in Oceania? Everyone knows everyone and openness and hospitality are on a heightened level. Interplayed with my determination, these Melanesian and Micronesian qualities allowed me to meet with the following: 8 current or former secretaries or ministers in state government, 4 members of Parliament or the Senate, 3 former Presidents or future candidates, 2 newspaper owners, multiple foreign ambassadors and opposition leaders, 4 professors, former military commanders, and numerous pastors and civil
servants. Each respondent had a unique perspective and provided invaluable insight to my questions. And how did each interview end? Sir or Ma’am, do you have any recommendations of who else I can talk to for my project? And that is how I walked to the next café or made my next call on WhatsApp for another meeting. I was a foreigner amongst political and societal giants, but I consistently found ways to insert myself in situations to further all avenues of my research. I could not waste the incredible opportunity proved to me by the FSI.
The beauty of conducting fieldwork was witnessing the dynamism of my initial question and hypothesis. While I initially entered into the trip focused on military agreements, what I uncovered was much deeper. Each interview revealed that avenues of economics and politics are much more rooted as a foundation for coercive or submissive security agreements for these small Oceania countries. While it was saddening to hear the pervasiveness of corruption and manipulation of civil society, it provides a unique answer to much of how agreements and relations are conducted in this area of operation. I was told stories of how hush money was provided to state governors to allow more advantageous foreign investment. I learned of terms such as stomach politics: the fact that locals are susceptible to temporary promises and benefits provided by elites only during election season, and, once it is all digested, you are hungry again for more. Overall, it was incredible the level of information that I was able to get out of people that I met with.
For the next year I will spend time writing a thesis on the motivations behind these security and access agreements that I learned about during my time abroad. Although the variables are different from my first anticipation, I am certain that I have analyzable data that will produce unique insight to how we should view the decision-making process of countries in Oceania. Further, this type of learning would have been impossible without actually visiting these cultures. There is something special about being able to interview people when they are most appreciative for you coming all the way to talk to them. Thus, I could not be more thankful for FSI’s help and I now am ready to embark on the next chapter of this journey!
