Kerryn Baker
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kerrynbaker.bsky.social
Kerryn Baker
@kerrynbaker.bsky.social
Fellow - Pacific Politics, ANU
New from me & my amazing co-author Ellenah Kelly on disability equity in politics and elections in Solomon Islands
Disability Equity in Politics and Elections in Solomon Islands
Disability equity is a stated priority area for the Solomon Islands government and its key international development partners, including Australia. Around 16 per cent of men and 17 per cent of women i...
hdl.handle.net
November 5, 2025 at 3:35 AM
New article on PNG politics - practising politics in a disorderly democracy @anudpa.bsky.social
Practising Politics in a Disorderly Democracy
Taking as its starting point Ron May's scholarship on Papua New Guinea as a “disorderly democracy,” this article examines how politics is practised in the PNG Parliament. Using a case study of the ev....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
September 26, 2025 at 12:21 AM
My review of Jacinda Ardern’s memoir now out in AJPH, featuring - importantly - my first reference to Impulse Body Spray in an academic journal onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
A Different Kind of Power: A Memoir. By Jacinda Ardern (Melbourne: Penguin Random House, 2025), pp. 352. $55.
Click on the article title to read more.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
August 22, 2025 at 3:48 AM
Reposted by Kerryn Baker
ANU & NUV students explored #resilience and #policy in #Vanuatu 🇻🇺 — learning from local leaders, building friendships & deepening #Pacific solidarity. 🌏

Read more ➡️ shorturl.at/WsbkL

@anubellschool.bsky.social @anu-asiapacific.bsky.social
ANU Students Explore Resilience, Policy, and Pacific Solidarity in Vanuatu | Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs
ANU and NUV students joined a month-long course in Vanuatu, exploring resilience, policy, and Pacific solidarity through shared learning, local engagement, and climate-focused discussions.
shorturl.at
August 5, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Reposted by Kerryn Baker
The latest Intel asked @kerrynbaker.bsky.social "50 years of independence in PNG: What do we need to think about for the future of the Australia-PNG Partnership?"

Read her response here 👉 lnkd.in/gQ-PavN5
Sign up to get the Intel straight to your inbox 👉 ow.ly/rYB250SavNo
April 3, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Delighted to contribute to this week’s Intel question from @devintellab.bsky.social, asking: "50 years of independence in PNG: What do we need to think about for the future of the Australia-PNG Partnership?"

Read my full response: devintelligencelab.com/the-intel
The Intel • Development Intelligence Lab
The Intel is a barometer for Indo-Pacific development issues. One topical question a week. Three expert responses. Short, sharp and provocative.
devintelligencelab.com
March 31, 2025 at 9:46 PM
This excellent piece today from Anna Naupa explores attitudes around contested issues of political candidacy & national identity in Vanuatu (partly using our @anudpa.bsky.social Pacific Attitudes Survey data!)
Exploring popular rhetoric about political candidacy in Vanuatu - Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
A "reform" to block non-indigenous political candidates is misguided and effort should instead be directed to other electoral reforms, says Anna Naupa.
devpolicy.org
March 20, 2025 at 9:42 PM
My piece on an eventful 2024 in Solomon Islands, and looking toward what 2025 might bring for @eastasiaforum.bsky.social @anudpa.bsky.social
New leaders face old problems in Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands saw major political changes in 2024 with Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele taking power after a delayed election, but economic challenges, corruption concerns and regional tensions contin...
eastasiaforum.org
February 11, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Reposted by Kerryn Baker
📢New issue of #PAG20 is out!📢

In "Tradition Meets Democracy" @kerrynbaker.bsky.social and co-authors look to the role of traditional and nontraditional gender norms in structuring women's political participation in 🇼🇸.

polisky gendersky

https://buff.ly/3WMwEbA
February 7, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Where geopolitics and development meet
Where geopolitics and development meet
“National interest” needn’t be a banned phrase, and acknowledgement can help make aid partnerships more honest.
www.lowyinstitute.org
January 31, 2025 at 5:05 AM
Great analysis from Anna Naupa here on rebuilding public trust in parliament after (another) snap election in Vanuatu (including the importance of a strong opposition)
How can Vanuatu’s new parliament rebuild public trust? - Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
A unified coalition government and a vocal, stable opposition are key to political stability in the island nation, says Anna Naupa.
devpolicy.org
January 27, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Reposted by Kerryn Baker
Reposted by Kerryn Baker
Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, Samoa’s first female Prime Minister, remains the country's PM, but the FAST party remains divided. Good analysis from Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson & Lilomaiava Maina Vai on Devpolicy: devpolicy.org/samoa-politi...
Samoa political update: Fiame prevails - Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
PM Fiame, supported by the Speaker of the House, has survived an attack on her leadership from within her own party, but further instability is likely.
devpolicy.org
January 22, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Reposted by Kerryn Baker
What do you do when a country's official electorate map is completely divorced from the reality on the ground? I don't know, but Papua New Guinea is about to find out. Thiago Opperman explains the problem today on Devpolicy: devpolicy.org/where-is-men...
Where is Mendi? How PNG’s electoral map broke: part 1 - Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
It has proven very challenging to find out how the redistricting of PNG electorates in 2022 changed the electoral map, says Thiago Cintra Oppermann.
devpolicy.org
January 21, 2025 at 5:55 AM
Reposted by Kerryn Baker
From Papua New Guinea's final days as a colony, across the promise & challenges of its independence, at the front lines of it relations with Australia, the late Charles Lepani was there. Stephen Howes has a informed personal & historical obituary on Devpolicy: devpolicy.org/vale-charles...
Vale Charles Lepani - Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
Stephen Howes pays tribute to Charles Lepani, former PNG High Commissioner to Australia, and the last of the country's "Gang of Four".
devpolicy.org
January 19, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Reposted by Kerryn Baker
Vanuatu elects fewer female MPs than basically anywhere on the planet: just six in 45 years. I spoke with the only woman MP of the last parliament, Gloria Julia King, on the struggles women face getting selected and elected.
www.thesenior.com.au/story/886869...
Women face uphill battle in Vanuatu politics
Vanuatu has just one female MP and seven women candidates among the 217 running for office in this...
www.thesenior.com.au
January 16, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Reposted by Kerryn Baker
New Zealand rejects a proposal by the Cook Islands to create its own passports and citizenship. Citizenship in nations that are not-quite-states is complicated and deserves more comparative study @globalcit.bsky.social islandsbusiness.com/news-break/n...
New Zealand rejects Cook Islands passport plan
New Zealand has rejected a proposal by the Cook Islands, a self-governing nation in free association with the larger Pacific country.
islandsbusiness.com
January 10, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Reposted by Kerryn Baker
In our most recent episode, @jochandler.bsky.social speaks to causes of the recent explosion of harvesting of fish maw in the remote Kikori delta in Papua New Guinea.
December 20, 2024 at 6:26 AM
Reposted by Kerryn Baker
📣 Out on #FirstView 📣

In "Tradition Meets Democracy" @kerrynbaker.bsky.social and co-authors use survey data to look to the role of traditional and nontraditional gender norms in structuring women's political participation in 🇼🇸.

Available 🌟 #OpenAccess 🌟

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
November 7, 2024 at 8:29 PM