Pacific Island Micro-States and Global Politics

Graham Hassall

Exclusion in global politics can occur not only in relation to social position (as seen in other studies for the IEGP project), but also in relation to geographical circumstance. Such marginalisation has been especially acute for small island states in the Pacific. Far removed from the main continents, only one of these countries, Papua New Guinea, even shares a land border with another state. Indeed, the terms ‘Asia-Pacific’ and ‘Pacific Rim’ tend to draw attention to the major land masses and bypass the island communities that dwell within the ocean.

Disempowerment of these islands starts in some of their names. Cook, Marshall, Pitcairn, Solomon and Wallis come from European explorers rather than local histories. Eight of the territories remain under external rule to this day: American Samoa, French Polynesia, Guam, Mariana Islands, New Caledonia, Pitcairn, Tokelau, and Wallis and Futuna. Most of the fourteen sovereign states in the region have only become constitutionally independent since 1970.

While nearly all of the self-governing Pacific island states are members of the United Nations and its associated bodies, they usually lack the human resources for full participation in global decision-making processes. Their voices can be drowned out during negotiations on international trade or the Law of the Sea. Their sovereignty can be overridden by superpowers who posture in the region as part of larger geostrategic rivalries. Activists from the Pacific are also generally marginalised in global civil society: for example, they figure little in NGO links with global governance institutions and in gatherings such as the World Social Forum.

Economically the Pacific islands tend to be marginalised in global affairs owing to the small scale of their populations and natural resources. Foreign capital mines their lands and seas. Preference for imported foodstuffs and consumer items has stressed each country’s balance of payments. After a century of emigration more Pacific Islanders now live outside the region than within it.

Culturally the islanders have Melanesian, Micronesian and Polynesian traditions that obtain little recognition, respect, voice or influence in global politics. There are concerns that globalization brings loss of identity with an influx of new norms. Adoption of western-style democratic governance can entail the abolition of traditional social and political institutions. Traditional subsistence economies involving complex systems of barter are giving way to capitalist production, global tourism, and dependence on remittances.

Ecologically a number of the Pacific islands are threatened by total exclusion through rising sea levels associated with global climate change. Other global environmental problems afflicting these small countries include renewable energy, deforestation, urbanization, the ecological footprint of large-scale natural resource extraction projects, and sustainable fisheries.

In other respects, however, Pacific islanders have used opportunities in contemporary globalization to increase their voice and influence. For example, new information and communications technologies have increased the capacity of Pacific states and societies to be aware of, and participate in, global processes most relevant to them. In this vein Pacific Island voices at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen were very effectively amplified through YouTube.

 In addition, civil society organizations across the region are enhancing awareness of critical global issues. Examples in this regard include the Oceania Regional Office of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on environmental issues; the Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific (FSPI) on good governance at village level; FEMLINK Pacific on the status of women; and the Pacific Islands Association of Non-Government Organizations (PIANGO) on trade agreements and development assistance coordination. The diaspora have also played a significant role as interlocutors between the islands and the wider world: e.g, advocating a return to democracy in Fiji; promoting trade in Pacific Island products; facilitating scholarships, etc.

Regionalism has also proved an effective means to empower the Pacific islands in global affairs. Relevant initiatives include the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO), the University of the South Pacific (USP), the Pacific Islands Development Programme (PIDP), the Pacific Power Association (PPA), and the South Pacific Board for Educational Assessment (SPBEA).

Global forces have a significant impact on Pacific Islanders. Whereas many new influences are positive, and welcomed, others cause harm and require response. The future challenge is for Pacific Island views to be voiced more consistently and effectively, and for the rest of the world to open its ears and eyes to the Pacific Island experiences.

Watch video footage of Graham Hassall introducing his paper on 'including small island states in global politics' at our international workshop in Rio de Janeiro.

The workshop brought together academics, activitists and policymakers from around the world and generated lively debates and new understanding on how to understand and overcome exclusion.

Read more about:

including the exluded | rio workshop |   workshop findings

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