scholarly journals Is Hegemony in the South Pacific possible?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Elisapeci Waqanivala
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Pacific Region ◽  
The South ◽  
Sovereign State ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
Island States ◽  
Donor States

<p>Hegemony is a concept associated with ‘superordinate’ powers equated to a sovereign state that has amassed great wealth and prowess. It is instrumental in developing institutions and defines the ‘rules of the game’. This paper explores the theory, that to be a hegemon in the region, a super-powerful state requires more than controlling inherent material capabilities. The rule of force and ideological thinking are now inadequate to keep a super state as the dominant or hegemonic power. There are distinct shifts of power dynamics from a realist perspective which includes John Mearsheimer’s “hard” and “latent power” to Evelyn Goh’s ideational thinking and the “cultural and social” components. China-US feature strongly in this paper. It will explore if hegemony is possible in the South Pacific Region (SPR). The region covers a large blue ocean space that has a number of small Pacific Island sovereign states and New Zealand and Australia. Geographically, the region has three distinct sub-regions namely, Melanesia, Polynesia, Micronesia. It is within these sub-region that ‘ordering’ of states occur with New Zealand, Australia and Papua New Guinea occupying larger landmasses and having bigger populations than the smaller island states. The emergence of China with its foreign policy interests, ‘soft power’ and blue ocean naval strategy into the SPR has attracted attention from the traditional powers inside and outside the region. In response, US, a superpower identified as the hegemon in the Pacific region, post colonization era during the 20th and the early 21st century, earning its name as ‘Pacific Theatre or The American Lake’, is re-adjusting its strategy to counter China’s interest. An analysis based on the ranking table with specific parameters will assist in determining which of the powers, in this instance, US and China will occupy the top of the rank. Even so it may not be adequate to claim hegemonic status in the region. This paper agrees that ‘hegemony’ is specific to the region of its interest. Power is measured in terms of its relative gains. The primary criteria in the ranking table will measure Aid given by donor countries to Pacific Islands. Although New Zealand and Australia are within the region they are ranked as donor states rather than recipients like island states in the sub-region.</p>

scholarly journals Is Hegemony in the South Pacific possible?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Elisapeci Waqanivala
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Pacific Region ◽  
The South ◽  
Sovereign State ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
Island States ◽  
Donor States

<p>Hegemony is a concept associated with ‘superordinate’ powers equated to a sovereign state that has amassed great wealth and prowess. It is instrumental in developing institutions and defines the ‘rules of the game’. This paper explores the theory, that to be a hegemon in the region, a super-powerful state requires more than controlling inherent material capabilities. The rule of force and ideological thinking are now inadequate to keep a super state as the dominant or hegemonic power. There are distinct shifts of power dynamics from a realist perspective which includes John Mearsheimer’s “hard” and “latent power” to Evelyn Goh’s ideational thinking and the “cultural and social” components. China-US feature strongly in this paper. It will explore if hegemony is possible in the South Pacific Region (SPR). The region covers a large blue ocean space that has a number of small Pacific Island sovereign states and New Zealand and Australia. Geographically, the region has three distinct sub-regions namely, Melanesia, Polynesia, Micronesia. It is within these sub-region that ‘ordering’ of states occur with New Zealand, Australia and Papua New Guinea occupying larger landmasses and having bigger populations than the smaller island states. The emergence of China with its foreign policy interests, ‘soft power’ and blue ocean naval strategy into the SPR has attracted attention from the traditional powers inside and outside the region. In response, US, a superpower identified as the hegemon in the Pacific region, post colonization era during the 20th and the early 21st century, earning its name as ‘Pacific Theatre or The American Lake’, is re-adjusting its strategy to counter China’s interest. An analysis based on the ranking table with specific parameters will assist in determining which of the powers, in this instance, US and China will occupy the top of the rank. Even so it may not be adequate to claim hegemonic status in the region. This paper agrees that ‘hegemony’ is specific to the region of its interest. Power is measured in terms of its relative gains. The primary criteria in the ranking table will measure Aid given by donor countries to Pacific Islands. Although New Zealand and Australia are within the region they are ranked as donor states rather than recipients like island states in the sub-region.</p>

Digital Government in Remote Locations

2011 ◽  
pp. 111-120
Author(s):  
Janet Toland ◽  
Fuatai Purcell ◽  
Sid Huff
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
The South ◽  
Population Densities ◽  
Government Services ◽  
Remote Locations ◽  
Island States ◽  
World Markets ◽  
The World ◽  
Barriers And Opportunities

All governments face difficulties in trying to ensure the full participation of every citizen. The further a citizen is located from the centre of power and administration, such as a capital city, the less engaged they are likely to be. This phenomenon can be observed at both a national and an international level. At the global level countries located in close proximity to major world markets are more likely to have well-developed e-government services, than more marginally located countries, particularly those with low population densities. Within individual countries, there is typically a marked variation between rural and urban areas both in terms of access to available infrastructure and uptake by citizens (Parker, 2000). In general, the more remote the location and the smaller the population density, the lower the rate of participation will be. This can be observed in even in the most highly developed, highly populated countries; for example, the Japanese government struggles to provide the often elderly residents of remote islands with government services (Hayashi & Hori, 2002). In a country that is less developed without easy access to major world markets, the effects on rural citizens are intensified. The small island developing states of the South Pacific are some of the most remotely located nations in the world; their economies are relatively underdeveloped and they have low population densities. By researching the difficulties faced in attempting to implement e-government in some of the most distant corners of the earth, lessons can be learned about the way that information and communication technologies (ICTs) can overcome the barriers of geography. The insights gained from this exercise are relevant worldwide; as many economically developed countries also have pockets of population that are hard to reach. A counter argument is that some of these differences may be attributable to a country’s level of economic development rather than it’s actual geographic location. A notable example of a remotely located country that has a highly developed e-government system is New Zealand. Despite having only four million inhabitants, and being placed on the other side of the globe from the major world markets of Europe and the USA, in 2001 New Zealand was nominated by the UN as the country with the third most advanced e-government system in the world (Boyle & Nicholson, 2003). ICTs now make it possible to connect a citizen in even the most far-flung location directly to central government services. This article investigates the status of e-government in remote locations. Representatives from ten different South Pacific Islands were surveyed to discover what they perceived as the main barriers and opportunities in developing e-government in each of their different countries. The island states of the South Pacific have developed independently and are culturally diverse. However, they all share some common features with regards to adoption of ICTs. In order to appreciate these factors more fully, one country, Samoa, has been used as an example. By comparing Samoa with New Zealand, lessons can be learned about how to utilise ICT to overcome the disadvantages of distance and low population. E-government is sometimes viewed as a subset of e-commerce. However, it needs to be remembered that there are substantive differences between the private and public sectors. Governments have a duty to make sure that services are available to all citizens, and usually the citizens who are the most needy are those who have the least access to government services (Curthoys & Crabtree, 2003). Often this is because such citizens live in remote rural locations. The public sector is a law-based system, and government includes many processes that are different from processes encountered in private sector settings such as retail or banking, for example: complex decision making; negotiations between stakeholders; policy formulation; and democratic participation (Lenk, 2002). An example is the highly contentious issue of land ownership in the South Pacific; the use of e-government could potentially help land boards to demonstrate a fair and transparent approach to this issue.

Kava : A Challenge to Alcohol?

1987 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-53
Author(s):  
J.E. Cawte
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Islands ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Pacific Region ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
The South ◽  
Aboriginal Communities ◽  
North East ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Arnhem Land

Kava has been introduced into Aboriginal communities in Northern Australia. Persons from Yirrkala in North East Arnhem Land visiting the South Pacific region on study tours have been impressed by their welcome in Kava bowl ceremonies, and some of them hoped that the Aborigines might use Kava instead of alcohol.In 1983 many Aboriginal people in Arnhem Land used Kava, and much more was used in 1984. By 1985 it became a social epidemic or ‘craze’ in many communities. Rings of people of both sexes and of all ages often sit together under trees around Kava bowls for many hours. They may drink up to a hundred times the amount normally drunk in the Pacific Islands by the same number of people in the same time.

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