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United States Institute of Peace

Camilla Pohle

Senior Program Specialist, Pacific Islands

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Please submit all media inquiries to interviews@usip.org or call 202.429.3869.

For all other inquiries, please call 202.457.1700

Camilla Pohle is a senior program specialist at USIP, where her work focuses on peace and stability in the Pacific Islands. 

Before joining USIP, she worked for the U.S. government as a political analyst covering the Pacific Islands, including their politics, security and foreign policy. 

Pohle holds a bachelor's degree in history from Mount Holyoke College.

Publications By Camilla

Bougainville Seeks U.S. Support Amid Strategic Rivalry in the Pacific

Bougainville Seeks U.S. Support Amid Strategic Rivalry in the Pacific

Thursday, November 16, 2023

By: Camilla Pohle

“In 2019, our people voted — we believe in democracy,” Ishmael Toroama, president of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, said in a speech at Georgetown University in Washington on November 9. Toroama was referring to the 2019 referendum in which 97.7 percent of Bougainvilleans, with 87.4 percent turnout, voted for independence from Papua New Guinea in a powerful confirmation of their long-held desire for self-determination. This desire has been largely ignored by the world, but in order to realize it, Bougainville needs strong international partners.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Global Policy

U.S.-Pacific Islands Summit: Getting Beyond the Honeymoon Phase

U.S.-Pacific Islands Summit: Getting Beyond the Honeymoon Phase

Thursday, September 21, 2023

By: Gordon Peake, Ph.D.;  Camilla Pohle

President Joe Biden will host Pacific Island leaders for a summit at the White House starting next Monday, marking one year since the first-ever such summit in September 2022. These high-level meetings signify the increasing level of attention that the U.S. government is paying to the region as its concerns about China’s activities there grow.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Global Policy

U.S. Strengthens Ties with Key Pacific Island Partners

U.S. Strengthens Ties with Key Pacific Island Partners

Thursday, June 1, 2023

By: Gordon Peake, Ph.D.;  Camilla Pohle

The United States notched multiple diplomatic wins in the Pacific Islands region last week, making further progress in Washington’s efforts to step up engagement in this oft-neglected part of the world. In a move closely watched by Pacific nations, the United States signed deals to renew its economic assistance to Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia for the next 20 years. Meanwhile, although President Biden had to cancel his planned visit to Papua New Guinea, Secretary of State Antony Blinken inked a defense cooperation deal with the island nation in the president’s stead. While the region has become another arena for U.S.-China competition, Washington has long-standing relationships and interests there that go well beyond its rivalry with Beijing.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Global Policy

Pro-Taiwan Pacific Island Leaders Show Cracks in China’s Appeal

Pro-Taiwan Pacific Island Leaders Show Cracks in China’s Appeal

Thursday, May 18, 2023

By: Camilla Pohle;  Jennifer Staats, Ph.D.

Most Pacific Island countries have formal diplomatic relations with Beijing. But at both the local and national level, some leaders are raising concerns about Chinese bribery, violations of sovereignty, clandestine intelligence operations and political interference in their countries, as well as the possibility that China may invade Taiwan. As Beijing forces its agenda on Pacific Island countries and competes with the United States for influence in the region, Washington should lead by example and build partnerships with the Pacific Islands that emphasize consulting with them as equals and focusing on areas of common interest, like climate change.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Global Policy

Six Months in, Where Does the U.S.’ Pacific Islands Strategy Stand?

Six Months in, Where Does the U.S.’ Pacific Islands Strategy Stand?

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

By: Gordon Peake, Ph.D.;  Camilla Pohle

In September 2022, the United States announced the Pacific Partnership Strategy, its first-ever roadmap for the region, amid increasing geopolitical competition between China and the United States and its partners. However, the strategy only makes one reference to Beijing — most of the text details how Washington will tackle the challenges that have been identified as priorities by the Pacific Island countries themselves, especially the climate crisis. This reflects the U.S. government’s understanding that, while some regional leaders have expressed their own concerns about China, Pacific Island countries want Washington to engage with them for their own sake, not just to counter Beijing.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Fragility & Resilience;  Global Policy

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