Thursday, October 3, 2024
3:30–4:30 PM HST | 9:30–10:30 PM EDT
Hybrid Event: 258 Moore Hall and Online
Watch the Video
The renewed geopolitical interest in Micronesia is prompting the United States and its allies to compete with China for influence across the islands. On October 3, 2024, Dr. Kenneth Kuper (Associate Professor, University of Guam) spoke at the University of Hawai’i about how major powers are attempting to leverage both geopolitical strategies and economic security measures to assert their presence, while also highlighting the potential negative impacts on Micronesian security. He also examined the broader implications that this power struggle may have for the region’s stability and future. The event included a discussion moderated by Dr. Petrice Flowers (Professor, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa) and was followed by a reception.
Kenneth Gofigan Kuper is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Micronesian Studies at the University of Guam’s Micronesian Area Research Center, where he runs their international relations research agenda. He is also the co-founder of the Pacific Center for Island Security based in Guam, which provides island and islander perspectives to geopolitical maneuvering in the Pacific Islands, particularly Micronesia and sits on the Government of Guam’s Commission on Decolonization.
This event was cosponsored by the Center for Indo-Pacific Affairs, the Center for Pacific Islands Studies, the Department of Asian Studies, the Department of Geography and Environment, the Department of Political Science, and the Matsunaga Institute for Peace at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.