Politics and State Building in Solomon IslandsSinclair Dinnen, Stewart Firth 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. |
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18 April AIMP arrest Asian Australian National University Bottom Sound Hotel Bougainville camp campaign Canberra candidates cent central Chinatown Chinese Choiseul coalition colonial commission of inquiry Commissioner conflict constitution corruption crisis crowd Dausabea Dinnen economic electoral ethnic tension exports federal force foreign Fraenkel Gizo Governance in Melanesia Guadalcanal Honiara independence institutions intervention Iron Bottom Sound issues Kabutaulaka kastom land large numbers leaders looting Mamaloni Manasseh Sogavare Melanesia Moti national election opposition Pacific Casino Hotel Pacific Islands Forum Papua New Guinea parliament parliamentary police political parties politicians prime minister prime ministerial election Provincial Government Radio New Zealand RAMSI reform Regional Assistance Mission Rini's riots role SIBC Sir Allan Snyder Rini Sogavare government Sogavare's Solomon Islands Government Solomon Islands politics Solomon Star South Pacific Taiwanese Tausinga Ulufa'alu unrest vote voters Western Province Western Solomons Westminster system Zealand