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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.

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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

In the Pacific, U.S. Risks Letting Down its Closest Partners

In the Pacific, U.S. Risks Letting Down its Closest Partners

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

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

As the United States seeks to shore up alliances and maintain regional stability amid increasing Chinese competition in the Pacific, it needs to mend strained relations with the island states that are its closest partners. The U.S. government describes Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands as “the bedrock of the U.S. role in the Pacific” and “crucial” to U.S. defense there. After months of delay that have undermined those relationships, the United States this month renewed the funding that underpins their government budgets. But significant bilateral strains will require further U.S. attention.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

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

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

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

Global Policy

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