Dr. Gordon Peake is a senior advisor for the Pacific Islands in USIP’s Asia Center. 

Over Dr. Peake’s 20-year career, he has worked as a long-term adviser to the Bougainville and Timor-Leste governments and consulted on policing, justice and political economy issues in the Pacific for bilateral donors and development banks.

Dr. Peake has used these vantage points as the basis for two books, one edited volume and 20-plus articles that deal with enhancing the theoretical and conceptual understandings of practical realities of implementing peace agreements and peacekeeping mandates. A key theme in his work is the centrality of human relationships in explaining why groups and governments work as they do.

Dr. Peake’s first book, “Beloved Land: Stories, Struggles and Secrets from Timor-Leste,” was winner of two Australian book awards, with a judging panel describing it as “a compelling work merging the personal with the historical … surprising, sometimes confronting and very poignant.” His second book, “Unsung Land, Aspiring Nation,” recounts his experience working in the would-be nation of Bougainville. He is currently working on a book about how personal relationships — whether good, bad or indifferent — are the underappreciated ingredient in explaining institutional behavior.

Dr. Peake received his master’s and doctorate from the University of Oxford and a law degree from Queen’s University, Belfast.

He is a citizen of Ireland and Australia and speaks Tetun, the language of Timor-Leste.

Publications By Gordon

Gordon Peake on the Second U.S.-Pacific Islands Summit

Gordon Peake on the Second U.S.-Pacific Islands Summit

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

By: Gordon Peake, Ph.D.

U.S. engagement with the Pacific Islands is “still in the honeymoon phase,” says USIP’s Gordon Peake. But as President Biden hosts the second U.S.-Pacific Islands Summit, there are a number of thorny issues that Pacific Island leaders are “hoping to get practical assistance from the United States” to address.

Type: Podcast

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

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 & ResilienceGlobal Policy

Examining Conflict Dynamics in Papua New Guinea

Examining Conflict Dynamics in Papua New Guinea

Monday, March 27, 2023

By: John Cox;  Melissa Demian;  Miranda Forsyth;  Joshua Goa;  Dennis Kuiai;  Dora Kuir-Ayius;  Dunstan Lawihin;  Michael Main;  Gordon Peake, Ph.D. (editor);  Nayahamui Rooney;  Almah Tararia;  Zuabe Tinning

In 2022, Papua New Guinea was designated as one of five priority countries or regions under the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability. USIP assembled a study group of senior officials and scholars to provide input on the guiding principles for a strategy to support US efforts to increase stability in the country.

Type: Discussion Paper

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

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