Skip to the main navigation Skip to the content
Pacific Security College
Previous page

Associate Professor Henry Ivarature

Deputy Director

Associate Professor Henry Ivarature, from Papua New Guinea, is the Deputy Director of Stakeholder Engagement at the Pacific Security College. He has held senior roles with PNG Sustainable Development Program, Government of Papua New Guinea, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) and Abt Associates.

Associate Professor Ivarature holds a PhD in sociology from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. His current research interests include political instability in Melanesia and Pacific regionalism. His latest publication is titled ‘The hidden dimension to political instability: Insights from ministerial durations in Papua New Guinea from 1972-2017”, which was published in Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies (2022).

Research interests

Associate Professor Ivarature’s areas of research and writing are cross-disciplinary and covers the areas of medical sociology, health, politics and political instability, regionalism, education (the politics of free education in PNG), governance and democracy, particularly elections. He has observed elections in Samoa, Niue, Cook Islands and Nauru and analysed elections in Tonga, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea.

Associate Professor Ivarature’s current areas of research are in understanding political instability, particularly, in the Western Pacific (PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu) looking more closely at the executive stability. He has also looked at other Pacific Island countries like Kiribati, Nauru, and Tuvalu as well.

He has written about cross-border trafficking of firearms through the PNG-Indonesia border and the political economy of drugs (marijuana in PNG), gun control, the infamous Sandline Affairs, criminal deportees in Tonga, and environment and climate change through the Commonwealth Technical Working Group on Small Islands Resilient States (2013-2014).

Qualifications

  • MA in Public Administration, and PhD in Sociology from Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand
  • BA (Hons) First Class in Political Science from the University of Papua New Guinea

Latest Content

Blog A PNG-Australia security framework: not a treaty but solid nonetheless • By Associate Professor Henry Ivarature On 7 December 2023, the prime ministers of Australia and Papua New Guinea signed an historic security agreement in Canberra. It has taken approximately three years to conclude since both countries signed the Comprehensive Strategic and Economic Partnership on 5 August 2020, which committed the parties to develop a bilateral security treaty. Read moreabout A PNG-Australia security framework: not a treaty but solid nonetheless
Blog Political instability in Papua New Guinea • By Associate Professor Henry Ivarature A former leader has pointed to the length of prime ministerial terms as an indicator of stability in Papua New Guinea, but this does not tell the whole story. Read moreabout Political instability in Papua New Guinea
Blog Why PNG’s 2022 election is facing controversy Papua New Guinea’s 2022 election has only just started, but its integrity is already under attack. Read moreabout Why PNG’s 2022 election is facing controversy
Blog The rejection of China’s deal shows the Pacific will not be used as a geopolitical pawn • By Associate Professor Henry Ivarature Pacific leaders have sent a strong message that countries who want to partner with them must treat them with respect and take action on climate change. Read moreabout The rejection of China’s deal shows the Pacific will not be used as a geopolitical pawn
Blog Leadership and the Pacific Way • By Associate Professor Henry Ivarature Will the leadership tussle within the PIF be resolved using the Pacific Way? Dr Henry Ivarature looks back to a previous era to see if it offers lessons on the current impasse. Read moreabout Leadership and the Pacific Way
Blog Tonga’s Drug Problem Draws Royal Attention • By Associate Professor Henry Ivarature The Kingdom of Tonga’s drug crisis requires a strong national and regional response. Read moreabout Tonga’s Drug Problem Draws Royal Attention

Our Staff

Learn more

You’re viewing the Pacific Security College website on an outdated browser. Please upgrade for the full experience .