/library/oar/handle/123456789/44413 2025-12-20T23:51:45Z 2025-12-20T23:51:45Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/44885 2019-07-17T19:43:25Z 2018-05-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Book review : Being political : leadership and democracy in the Pacific Islands Abstract: Jack Corbett has produced a high quality work which takes its cue from an interest in political biography and life-writing, combined with an interpretive approach to political analysis. The choice of Pacific island politicians as subjects for analysis stems from his personal interest in, and connections with, the region. The result is a keen insight into the very human aspects of the professional life of politicians in some very challenging settings, as well as the personal motivations that drive them to seek public office. This insight provides the reader with an appreciation of the difficulties facing politicians at different levels: from the demands placed on them by constituents, as well as by other politicians, to the sacrifices of personal time with family and friends; and, not least, the financial costs involved in pursuing a political career.

2018-05-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/44527 2019-06-28T21:10:31Z 2018-05-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Book Review : The Rahui : Legal pluralism in Polynesian traditional management of resources and territories Abstract: The debated concepts of tapu/kapu/tabu (spiritual restriction or sacred prohibition) and mana (Austronesian concept of power, effectiveness and prestige) have been something of a crucial obsession within anthropological literature, both in attempts to understand Oceanic underpinnings of power and religion and, in recent decades, in their application towards fulfilling western and global desires for biodiversity conservation. In this edited volume, readers are offered the first work devoted to discussing the related, but understudied, concept of rahui/kahui/ra’ui (resource or territory restriction) in multiple Polynesian small states and across deep time. The book is first and foremost a valuable and ethnographically rich resource for anyone studying taboo institutions or contemporary Pacific governance broadly. It also details the unique ways that small jurisdictions assert cultural as well as legal identity while contending with foreign governing powers and large-scale international forces. Finally, the work provides invaluable English language access to French scholarship in Oceania previously underutilised by large swathes of academia.

2018-05-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/44526 2019-06-28T21:10:37Z 2018-05-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Book Review : The New Pacific Diplomacy Abstract: The new Pacific diplomacy provides a fascinating look at the changing nature of the foreign affairs of Pacific small island states over the last decade. It is the most important work to be published on this topic so far, and has been influential in its own right in establishing the narrative of Pacific island states as assertive, independent, innovative and influential voices on the international stage. The edited volume brings together chapters from 23 authors, edited by two wellknown international relations scholars based at the University of the South Pacific. It is both an outstanding and inclusive line-up, with several Pacific island leaders (including prime ministers and presidents), academics, students and civil servants providing contributions. Importantly, a majority of the contributors are themselves Pacific islanders: a fact that distinguishes the book from much of the literature on the region.

2018-05-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/44525 2019-06-28T21:10:37Z 2018-05-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Book Review : Small states in a legal world Abstract: Over the last few years, there has been a surge of interest in small states and territories among legal researchers, with several initiatives aimed at raising awareness and fostering research on the specific legal dimensions of ‘small’ jurisdictions (i.e. those with less than 1.5 million residents, in a commonly accepted notion), or even of ‘micro’ ones (even smaller). One reason for this growing interest is the intriguing features of small places, including their unique legal dimensions and their historically successful efforts to survive and stay viable, despite their lacking several elements and resources associated with ‘regular’ states. Another reason for this interest is the perception that they may serve as laboratories or observatories to analyse dynamics and solutions about governance and the law which may be reproducible – or actually work, if covertly – in ‘larger’ jurisdictions worldwide. Thus, small jurisdictions epitomise current issues of interest for all governance/legal systems and jurisdictions, and feature prominently in offering useful elements with which to devise new models of statehood, sovereignty and good governance for the 21st century.

2018-05-01T00:00:00Z