Overview

Politics and State Building in Solomon Islands examines a crisis moment in recent Solomon Islands history. Contributors examine what happened when unrest engulfed the capital of the small Melanesian country in the aftermath of the 2006 national elections, and consider what these events show about the Solomon Islands political system, the influence of Asian interests in business and politics, and why the crisis is best understood in the context of the country's volatile blend of traditional and modern politics. Until the disturbances of April 2006 and subsequent deterioration in bilateral relations between Australia and Solomon Islands under the Sogavare government, experts had hailed the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) as an unqualified success. Some saw it as a model for 'cooperative intervention’ in ‘failing states’ worldwide. Following these developments success seems less certain and aspects of the RAMSI model appear flawed. Using the case of Solomon Islands, this book raises fundamental questions about the nature of ‘cooperative intervention’ as a vehicle for state building, asking whether it should be construed as a mainly technical endeavour or whether it is unavoidably a political undertaking with political consequences. Providing a critical but balanced analysis, Politics and State Building in Solomon Islands has important implications for the wider debate about international state-building interventions in ‘failed’ and ‘failing’ states.

Full Product Details

Author:   Sinclair Dinnen ,  Stewart Firth
Publisher:   Asia Pacific Press
Imprint:   Asia Pacific Press
Edition:   illustrated edition
ISBN:  

9780731538188

ISBN 10:   0731538188
Pages:   310
Publication Date:   01 May 2008
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

  Preliminary Pages Preface – Sinclair Dinnen and Stewart Firth Contributors Maps State building Dilemmas of intervention and the building of state and nation – Sinclair Dinnen Unrest Politics of disorder: the social unrest in Honiara – Matthew Allen No more walkabout long Chinatown: Asian involvement in the economic and political process – Clive Moore Elections and Political Process Westminster meets Solomons in the Honiara riots – Tarcisius Tara Kabutaulaka Rainbows across the mountains: the first post–RAMSI general elections – Sam Alasia The impact of RAMSI on the 2006 elections – Jon Fraenkel RAMSI RAMSI–the way ahead – Mary-Louise O'Callaghan Provincial Perspectives Kastom and theocracy: a reflection on governance from the uttermost part of the world – Jaap Timmer The coup nobody noticed: the Solomon Islands Western State movement in 2000 – Ian Scales Crisis in Solomon Islands: foraging for new directions – Transform Aqorau   Appendix 1: The unrest in Honiara–an Australian government perspective – Anita Butler, DFAT Appendix 2: Commission of Inquiry into the April 2006 Civil Unrest in Honiara. Terms of Reference Appendix 3: Pacific Islands Forum Review of the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands. Terms of Reference Index  

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