Security In Oceania

"French and Australian collaborative research in the humanities and the social sciences in the South Pacific has grown and intensified significantly over the past two decades, beginning with the international symposium Changing Identities in the Pacific at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century held at the Australian Embassy in Paris in 1997 ... In April 2006, another French-government sponsored international symposium, AGORA (Ateliers Gouvernance et Recherche Appliquée) was held at IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement), Noumea, New Caledonia, major themes being governance and economic development, again bringing together Francophone and Anglophone scholars from France and the Pacific region. This was followed in October 2009 by two conjoint Francophone/Anglophone conferences, held at the IRD Centre in Noumea, Stability, Security and Development in Oceania, preceded by AGORA-2, an international conference on Anglophone research in the humanities and the social sciences in the Francophone Pacific, sponsored by the French Government and the Government of New Caledonia. The first of these conferences was sponsored by the French Fonds Pacifique and the State, Society and Governance Program at The Australian National University. An edited selection of presentations from this symposium constitutes the present volume."--Preface.

This book examines questions about the changing nature of security and insecurity in Pacific Island Countries (PICs). Previous discussions of security in the Pacific region have been largely determined by the geopolitical interests of the Global North. This volume instead attempts to centre PICs’ security interests by focussing on the role of organisational culture, power dynamics and gender in (in)security processes and outcomes. Mapping Security in the Pacific underscores the multidimensional nature of security, its relationship to local, international, organisational and cultural dynamics, the resistances engendered through various forms of insecurities, and innovative efforts to negotiate gender, context and organisational culture in reducing insecurity and enhancing justice. Covering the Pacific region widely, the volume brings forth context-specific analyses at micro-, meso- and macro-levels, allowing us to examine the interconnections between security, crime and justice, and point to the issues raised for crime and justice studies by environmental insecurity. In doing so, it opens up opportunities to rethink scholarly and policy frames related to security/insecurity about the Pacific. Written in a clear and direct style, this book will appeal to students and scholars in criminology, sociology, cultural studies, social theory and those interested in learning about the Pacific region and different aspects of security.

Contested Terrain provides a cutting-edge, comprehensive and innovative approach to critically analysing the multidimensional and contested nature of security narratives, justified by different ideological, political, cultural and economic rationales. This is important in a complex and ever-changing situation involving a dynamic interplay between local, regional and global factors. Security narratives are constructed in multiple ways and are used to frame our responses to the challenges and threats to our sense of safety, wellbeing, identity and survival but how the narratives are constructed is a matter of intellectual and political contestation. Using three case studies from the Pacific (Fiji, Tonga and Solomon Islands), Contested Terrain shows the different security challenges facing each country, which result from their unique historical, political and socio-cultural circumstances. Contrary to the view that the Pacific is a generic entity with common security issues, this book argues for more localised and nuanced approaches to security framing and analysis.