This is as much an experiment in investigative reporting as it is a thesis. It explores the possibility of carrying out “research journalism” on a specific issue in a New Zealand academic environment, after a failure to complete the mission within newsrooms. The thesis debates theoretical and practical “restraints” to reporting this conflict and New Zealand’s role in it. Such restraints might include the degree of conservatism and intractability in Western traditions and practices of both the mainstream media, and of the other potential “commentating power”, universities.

Doctor of Philosophy(PhD) / Menggwa Dla is a Papuan language spoken in Sandaun Province of Papua New Guinea and Kabupaten Jayapura of Papua Province, Indonesia. Menggwa Dla is a dialect of the Dla language; together with its sister language Anggor (e.g. Litteral 1980), the two languages form the Senagi language family, one of the small Papuan language families found in North-Central New Guinea. The main text of this thesis is divided into seven chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the linguistic, cultural and political landscapes of the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border area where the Dla territory is located. Chapter 2 introduces the phonology of Menggwa Dla; described in this chapter are the phonemes, allophonic variations, phonotactics, morpho-phonological processes, stress assignment and intonation of the language. The inventory of phonemes in Menggwa is average for a Papuan language (15 consonants and 5 vowels). The vast majority of syllables come in the shape of V, CV or C1C2V where C2 can be /n/ /r/ /l/ /j/ or /w/. In C1C2V syllables, the sonority rises from C1 to V (§2.2.2). Nevertheless, there are a few words with word-medial consonant sequences like ft /ɸt/, lk /lk/, lf /lɸ/ or lk /lk/ where the sonority drops from the first to the second consonant; the first consonant in these sequences is analysed as the coda of the previous syllable (§2.2.3). Chapter 3 is an overview of the word classes in Menggwa Dla; the morphological, syntactic and semantic properties of the three major word classes (nouns, adjectives and verbs) and the minor word classes are compared in this chapter. Chapter 4 describes the properties of nouns and noun phrases; the person-number-gender categories, noun-phrasal syntax, nominal clitics and personal pronouns are outlined in this chapter. Menggwa Dla has a rich array of case, topic and focus markers which comes in the form of clitics (§4.5). Subject pronouns (‘citation pronouns’) only mark person (i.e. one for each of the three persons), whereas object and genitive pronouns mark person (including inclusive/exclusive first person), number, and sometimes also gender features (§4.6). Chapter 5 introduces various morphological and syntactic issues which are common to both independent and dependent clauses: verb stems, verb classes, cross-referencing, intraclausal syntax, syntactic transitivity and semantic valence. Cross-referencing in Menggwa Dla is complex: there are seven paradigms of subject cross-reference suffixes and four paradigms of object cross-references. Based on their cross-referencing patterns, verbs are classified into one of five verb classes (§5.2). There is often a mismatch between the number of cross-reference suffixes, the semantic valence, and the syntactic transitivity within a clause. There are verbs where the subject cross-reference suffix, or the object suffix, or both the subject and object suffixes are semantically empty (‘dummy cross-reference suffixes’; §5.3.2). Chapter 6 outlines the morphology of independent verbs and copulas. Verbal morphology differs greatly between the three statuses of realis, semi-realis and irrealis; a section is devoted to the morphology for each of the three statuses. Chapter 7 introduces the dependent clauses and verbal noun phrases. Different types of dependent verbs are deverbalised to various degrees: subordinate verbs are the least deverbalised, chain verbs are more deverbalised (but they mark switch-reference (SR), and sometimes also interclausal temporal relations), and non-finite chain verbs even more deverbalised. Further deverbalised than the non-finite chain verbs are the verbal nouns; verbal noun phrases in Menggwa Dla functions somewhat like complement clauses in English. In younger speakers speech, the function of the chain clause SR system has diverted from the canonical SR system used by older speakers (§7.2.2). For younger speakers, coreferential chain verb forms and disjoint-reference chain verb forms only have their coreferential and disjoint-referential meaning — respectively — when the person-number-gender features of the two subject cross-reference suffixes cannot resolve the referentiality of the two subjects. Otherwise, the coreferential chain verb forms have become the unmarked SR-neutral chain verb forms. At the end of this thesis are appendix 1, which contains four Menggwa Dla example texts, and appendix 2, which contains tables of cross-reference suffixes, pronouns, copulas and irregular verbs.

Recent developments in international relations have seen dramatic increases in the number and activities of human rights non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This has inspired research that seeks to explain processes of human rights socialisation, particularly in crisis zones. In this context, NGO advocacy is often welcomed as being inherently beneficial for adherence to human rights principles. Such a position, however, fails to account for the critiques offered by theorists who suggest that the wielding of any power to affect change can have negative as well as positive outcomes, and the critiques of realist international relations theorists who assert the dangers of unqualified promotion of normative concerns in the face of power interests. In this context, this thesis offers a critical evaluation of the contributions of NGO advocacy in human rights socialisation. Two models of human rights socialisation – the spiral and boomerang models – are utilised in examining human rights advocacy in West Papua, a province of Indonesia. The West Papuan case study indicates that detrimental outcomes can result from the failure of human rights advocates to account for political interests and state sovereignty in their strategies of human rights promotion. Human rights campaigns framed in terms of people’s rights to physical security and subsistence, instead of more political rights, such as the right to selfdetermination, are likely to be more positive for human rights adherence. This points to the desirability of a hierarchy of rights principles in human rights advocacy and suggests, for the socialisation models used, a need for clearer distinctions between the human rights principles prescribed for advocacy.

Doctor of Philosophy(PhD) / Menggwa Dla is a Papuan language spoken in Sandaun Province of Papua New Guinea and Kabupaten Jayapura of Papua Province, Indonesia. Menggwa Dla is a dialect of the Dla language; together with its sister language Anggor (e.g. Litteral 1980), the two languages form the Senagi language family, one of the small Papuan language families found in North-Central New Guinea. The main text of this thesis is divided into seven chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the linguistic, cultural and political landscapes of the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border area where the Dla territory is located. Chapter 2 introduces the phonology of Menggwa Dla; described in this chapter are the phonemes, allophonic variations, phonotactics, morpho-phonological processes, stress assignment and intonation of the language. The inventory of phonemes in Menggwa is average for a Papuan language (15 consonants and 5 vowels). The vast majority of syllables come in the shape of V, CV or C1C2V where C2 can be /n/ /r/ /l/ /j/ or /w/. In C1C2V syllables, the sonority rises from C1 to V (§2.2.2). Nevertheless, there are a few words with word-medial consonant sequences like ft /ɸt/, lk /lk/, lf /lɸ/ or lk /lk/ where the sonority drops from the first to the second consonant; the first consonant in these sequences is analysed as the coda of the previous syllable (§2.2.3). Chapter 3 is an overview of the word classes in Menggwa Dla; the morphological, syntactic and semantic properties of the three major word classes (nouns, adjectives and verbs) and the minor word classes are compared in this chapter. Chapter 4 describes the properties of nouns and noun phrases; the person-number-gender categories, noun-phrasal syntax, nominal clitics and personal pronouns are outlined in this chapter. Menggwa Dla has a rich array of case, topic and focus markers which comes in the form of clitics (§4.5). Subject pronouns (‘citation pronouns’) only mark person (i.e. one for each of the three persons), whereas object and genitive pronouns mark person (including inclusive/exclusive first person), number, and sometimes also gender features (§4.6). Chapter 5 introduces various morphological and syntactic issues which are common to both independent and dependent clauses: verb stems, verb classes, cross-referencing, intraclausal syntax, syntactic transitivity and semantic valence. Cross-referencing in Menggwa Dla is complex: there are seven paradigms of subject cross-reference suffixes and four paradigms of object cross-references. Based on their cross-referencing patterns, verbs are classified into one of five verb classes (§5.2). There is often a mismatch between the number of cross-reference suffixes, the semantic valence, and the syntactic transitivity within a clause. There are verbs where the subject cross-reference suffix, or the object suffix, or both the subject and object suffixes are semantically empty (‘dummy cross-reference suffixes’; §5.3.2). Chapter 6 outlines the morphology of independent verbs and copulas. Verbal morphology differs greatly between the three statuses of realis, semi-realis and irrealis; a section is devoted to the morphology for each of the three statuses. Chapter 7 introduces the dependent clauses and verbal noun phrases. Different types of dependent verbs are deverbalised to various degrees: subordinate verbs are the least deverbalised, chain verbs are more deverbalised (but they mark switch-reference (SR), and sometimes also interclausal temporal relations), and non-finite chain verbs even more deverbalised. Further deverbalised than the non-finite chain verbs are the verbal nouns; verbal noun phrases in Menggwa Dla functions somewhat like complement clauses in English. In younger speakers speech, the function of the chain clause SR system has diverted from the canonical SR system used by older speakers (§7.2.2). For younger speakers, coreferential chain verb forms and disjoint-reference chain verb forms only have their coreferential and disjoint-referential meaning — respectively — when the person-number-gender features of the two subject cross-reference suffixes cannot resolve the referentiality of the two subjects. Otherwise, the coreferential chain verb forms have become the unmarked SR-neutral chain verb forms. At the end of this thesis are appendix 1, which contains four Menggwa Dla example texts, and appendix 2, which contains tables of cross-reference suffixes, pronouns, copulas and irregular verbs.

Since West Papua’s integration into Indonesia in 1969, the Free West Papua Movement has been engaged in a struggle for independence from Indonesia. The indigenous people of the territory have endured murder, rape, and many other abuses. This thesis provides an account of Indonesia’s control over West Papua through a settler-colonial lens. It aims to shed light on the paradox of the extensive involvement by the international community during the handover period in contrast to the limited intervention in addressing the human rights abuses that followed, by employing the concept of sovereignty as symbolic form. The thesis concludes that sovereignty has evolved beyond a mere attribute of modern states. It now serves as a strategic tool for upholding international peace. Interference and intervention are therefore normalized, and utilized arbitrarily, as demonstrated in the case of West Papua. This offers insight into the ongoing human rights abuses that persist with impunity.

This Study is concerned with the WP-Indonesia conflict and the development of its narrative since 1949 as well as the shifting in power dynamics. It reveals that the past decades have not changed the essential power dynamic of Indonesia holding the main power by portraying itself as the “protector,” while WP describes them as a “colonising power”. Nevertheless, a slow trend has been detected as the Papuan narrative shifts towards WP presenting independent ways of governing to the global community, portraying itself as being on the same level as other sovereign states. Further research could investigate the differences in national versus international narratives and their influence on public opinion. The narratives are being traced using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and framing theory by Robert Entman. Combining these frameworks, the narratives are analysed by focusing on the presented issue, cause, moral judgement, suggested resolutions and portrayed power imbalances. Moreover, the data that are being used involve public statements by the political elite of each party.

After the Cold War, mediation as an armed conflict resolution process was thought to become an increasingly common tool to address even the most complex armed conflicts. Recurring conflicts especially should be the focus of mediation. However, with regards to armed conflicts that reoccur, there is a gap in the research of mediation in relation to the rounds of violence. This thesis argues that the more rounds of violence a recurring armed conflict experiences the less likely it will experience mediation. To examine the relationship between the rounds of violence of a recurring armed conflict and mediation onset, this thesis employed Structured Focused Comparison (SFC) to compare two recurring armed conflicts. One with a low mediation occurrence (West Papua) and one high mediation occurrence (Aceh). While the case comparison provides limited support for the hypothesized relationship between rounds of violence and mediation, the results instead may provide support that recurring armed conflicts are not increasingly resistant to mediation the more rounds of violence they experience.

Sovereignty and self-determination are two principles accepted by UN in the UN Charter and resolutions. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the tensions between sovereignty and self-determination principles in the UN and to increase understanding of how these tensions might have led to ambiguity in UN policy toward the West Papua case. The thesis identifies that there are tensions between those two principles in the UN resolutions. The tensions cause ambiguity in the UN when they are involving in self-determination cases outside the classical colonial context. The argument will be strengthened by conducting a single case study analysis on West Papua self-determination claim. As one of the self-determination claims outside the classical colonial context, the UN role when being involved in the case is argued to be lack of response and ambiguous. It concludes that the ambiguity of the UN when involved in the West Papua self-determination claim is resulted from the tensions between sovereignty and self-determination principles in the UN resolutions.

Native to the world’s third-largest tropical rainforest, the indigenous people of West Papua, known as Papuan, have experienced substantial changes to their ecosystem over the last several decades, primarily to their water resources. As surface water has been a primary asset for drinking water consumption and their livelihoods for generations, the increase in pollution from expanding oil palm plantations impacts many lives. Receiving limited attention, disentangling this water injustice from power relations as a byproduct of the state-backed development, corporate-driven expansions, and consumer demand become pivotal to advocating for the indigenous community and their livelihoods. Therefore, this study explores integrating physical evidence of agricultural runoff from oil palm plantations and indigenous perceptions using hydro-social territories in a remote area in West Papua, Indonesia. Due to the lack of long-term investigations of the impact of water contamination in West Papua, a hydrological model will be used to assess the nature of the oil palm impact within the watershed. As deterioration in water quality is expected due to landscape changes, the indigenous perception of hydrological changes is crucial to determine how significant the impact is on local livelihoods. Semi-structured interviews will be used to study the perception of indigenous communities on water resources and threats of oil palm to their livelihood. The synthesis of those results will later be concluded using the hydro-social approach, involving a multi-scale analysis that includes Indonesian state and corporate actors through literature reviews from various sources (e.g., official documentation, corporate reports, and journals). This research will develop strategies to protect indigenous communities not yet impacted by large-scale changes in the watershed resulting from palm oil plantations.