South Pacific in contemporary political and security developments

Abstract

Being well‐informed on contemporary political and security developments in the island small states of the South Pacific is not easy for those beyond the immediate vicinity of that region. This essay surveys the existing pertinent literature, suggesting how best to be informed of such developments and to make most sense of them. Two new books are recommended as important additions to the small library that provides the most valuable insights. Howard Van Trease (ed), Melanesian Politics: Stael Blong Vanuatu. Christchurch and Suva, Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies and Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific, 1995, pp 450+xx, NZ$49.50, ISBN 0–0–9583300–4–2 (Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies) and ISBN 982–02–0119–5 (Institute of Pacific Studies). The French language version title is La Politique Melanésienne: Stael Blong Vanuatu. Stephanie Lawson, Tradition Versus Democracy in the South Pacific: Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1996, pp 228+x, £35, ISBN 0–521–49638 (h/b).