Course organiser:Kathryn Ell and Alan Blackburn
Presenter:Various
27 May:
Kendra Roddis has a Masters in Defence and Security with an Honours Degree in International Relations. She will present 'An Examination of Defence Relations in the Pacific: Small Islands and Big Waves'.Kendra is a Freyburg Defence Scholar with research interests in the Asia-Pacific, political science, disaster relief and humanitarianism. Previously, Kendra served in the Royal New Zealand Navy as a Navigation and Warfare Officer. She was deployed to Haiti in 2010 to conduct disaster relief after the country’s 7.0 earthquake. This ignited her passion for improving civil-military coordination at the international level.
3 Jun:
Mariana Cifuentes is a development practitioner with 15 years’ of international experience. Her topic is 'From a Flawed Democracy to Military Rule: The Impact of Myanmar’s Recent Military Coup and Predictions About Its Future Through the Lens of Art'.After 7 years of living in Myanmar, and following the military coup d'état on 1st February 2021, Mariana relocated to Christchurch where she continues her work as part of the British Council, the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
10 Jun:
Prof. Alex Tan, Head of Dept. Political Science and International Relations, UC, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha, on 'Demystifying the China-Taiwan Relations'. On the UC website Alex defines the study of Political Science and International
Relations as “the study of power”- who gets what, where and when? Current events in our neighbourhood may well have posed a question for us all: “Are you concerned about international politics and international security?” With this question in mind, Alex will explore, examine and assess the relationships of key players in our vicinity.
17 Jun:
Professor Alex Tan on 'Taiwan: Why it Matters'.
24 Jun:
Professor Alex Tan on 'The China-Taiwan-US Triangular Relations: Challenges and Opportunities'.