Fieldwork, International Engagement and Academic Life

My academic work brings me into contact with diverse political, cultural and scholarly contexts across the Pacific and beyond. Through international research, fieldwork, conferences, policy dialogues and professional exchanges, I explore how political power, identity, diplomacy and international relations are understood and practised in different settings.

This page documents selected experiences that have shaped my research and academic journey, from fieldwork in Bhutan and engagement with Pacific climate diplomacy to international conferences and scholarly exchanges across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific.

These experiences reflect my commitment to understanding international politics through both theoretical inquiry and engagement with the people, institutions and places that shape it.

Research and Fieldwork

New Zealand

Qatar

Arabic Qahwa

On our way to the Qatar-Saudi Border

With Tom Boonen after the Tour of Qatar

With the Belgian Ambassador to Qatar

At Al Jazeera Headquarters in Doha

Camel ride in Khawr al Udayd

At Qatar University in Doha

At Souq Waqif in Doha

On my way to Bhutan

Gandering at Mount Everest

With the Prime Minister of the first democratically elected government of Bhutan (2008 – 2013) - Jigme Y. Thinley

With the Prime Minister of the second democratically elected government of Bhutan (2013 – 2018) - Tshering Tobgay

Conducting a survey in remote Monasteries and Temples in Eastern Bhutan with colleagues from the National Library of Bhutan

Celebrating Bhutan's National Day - 17 December 2009

Official ceremony at Hongtsho Goemba attended by a Bhutanese Minister, Chief of the Royal Bhutanese Army, Bhutanese Lamas and monks, lay people and myself.

Teaching bright children in a remote village in Trashigang Dzongkhag, Bhutan

Bhutan-India Border

Bhutan Gate, as seen in Phuentsholing

Bhutan Gate, as seen in Jaigaon

Pacific Diplomacy and Climate Engagement

With Tuvaluan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Simon Kofe

BlueCOP | COP25

Madrid

Sustainable Development Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

At the high-level segment

Mr Taneti Maamau, President of Kiribati, addressing the high-level segment.

With Taneti Maamau, President of Kiribati.

With Anote Tong, Former President of Kiribati.

MOANA BLUE PACIFIC PAVILION

A Pacific partnership supported by New Zealand with Fiji and managed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).

International Conferences and Scholarly Exchange

Tokyo - Japan 🇯🇵

Meiji Jingu

Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

Starfield Library

Two-story libary, 13-meter-tall bookshelfs, more than 50,000 books

28th International Political Science Association World Congress in Seoul, South Korea

President of the Republic of Korea Lee Jae-myung addresses the delegates at the Opening Ceremony of the 2025 IPSA World Congress

59th Otago Foreign Policy School at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

Fiji 1.5 Dialogue on Enhancing Australia and India Cooperation with Indo-Pacific Island States

Australian National University China in the World Forum

Bali, Indonesia

Uluwatu Temple, Bali, Indonesia

Kuwait

Kuwait City

The Pacific: Places and Perspectives

Pasifika Voices at the USP Graduation Ceremony

Levuka Historical Port Town, Ovalau Island, Fiji Islands - A UNESCO World Heritage Site

First Landing in Nadi, Fiji

USP School Visits in Taveuni and SavuSavu

Fiji 36 - Tonga 0

2 July 2022 @ ANZ Stadium in Suva, Fiji

Pacific Nations Cup

Beyond Academia

Cruising the Bosphorus Strait where Europe meets Asia

Istanbul, Türkiye

The North Sea

Kielder Water and Forest Park

United Kingdom

Drangedal and Oslo (Norway)

Niagara Falls, Ontario (Canada).

San Francisco (US)

Muir Woods National Monument (US)

Napa Valley - California (US)

Upper Mustang (Nepal)

Monastery and Mustang Caves

With Nepali Guide MB

Hiking in Upper Mustang (Nepal)

Nepali Guide MB

At the top of Mount Everest

King Jigme Dorje Palbar Bista

Photo taken during an audience with the last King of Mustang, Jigme Dorje Palbar Bista, at Lo-Manthang Palace in Mustang (Nepal).

Queen Rani Sahiba Sidol Palbar Bista

Photo taken during an audience with the last Queen of Mustang, Rani Sahiba Sidol Palbar Bista, at Lo-Manthang Palace in Mustang (Nepal).

Tibet

The Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet, which was the winter palace of the Dalai Lamas from 1649 to 1959.

China

At Mount Everest North Base Camp Tibet

ཇོ་མོ་གླང་མ

5,150 metres | 16,900 ft

Peru

Machu Picchu

Hiking in Huaraz

Amazon River

Amazon River in Iquitos

Amazon River in Pucallpa

Iquitos

On our way to the amazon rainforest

At Namgyal Monastery in McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala

India

At Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal in Agra

At the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab

At the evening flag lowering ceremony at the India-Pakistan border near Wagah. The flag ceremony is conducted by the Indian Border Security Force and Pakistan Rangers.

Security Checkpoint

Closed Border

Opening the Border

Kalachakra Mandala, Namgyal Monastery

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