Salā Dr George Carter
Head of the ANU Department of Pacific Affairs, Coral Bell School of Asian and Pacific Affairs, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
George Carter’s research and teaching focuses on the intersections of international politics with climate change, security, and aerospace governance, with an emphasis on the Pacific and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). His work examines diplomacy, multilateralism, and the authority of Pacific states, with particular attention to finance, gender, democracy, and Indigenous and traditional knowledge. He is co-author of Sustaining Development in Small Islands: Climate Change, Geopolitical Security, and the Permissive Liberal Order (Cambridge University Press) and editor of Oceanic Diplomacy: reasserting indigenous diplomacy in contemporary Pacific (Canterbury University: McMillian Press), with publications in numerous book chapters and in leading journals including Earth System Governance, Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Australian Journal on International Affairs, The Journal of Pacific History, and Climate Action (Nature portfolio Journal)to name a few. He is a Fellow and Deputy Head of Department of Pacific Affairs and Director of the ANU Pacific Institute, as well as Cluster Lead on Climate Security and Indigenous Knowledge. In 2025, he was appointed by the UN Secretary-General to the Independent Expert Group on the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI). George’s contributions to International Relations, Diplomacy, and Pacific Studies are shaped by his Pacific upbringing and grounded in his Samoan, Tuvaluan, I‑Kiribati, Chinese, and British heritage. He proudly serves his communities and holds the high chief/matai title of Salā from Leaʻuvaʻa, Samoa.