Development in the Pacific

Nation State

  • A political unit where a state and a nation are congruent.
  • A defined territory with a population sharing a common history and culture.

Key Concepts

  • Coloniality: Continued structures and knowledge from colonization that shape society, often Western/Eurocentric.
  • Modernization: Shift towards Western/European progress.
  • Economic Growth: Influenced by IMF and World Bank, potentially leading to dispossession and dependence in the Global South. Countered by increasing ‘South-South’ cooperation.

Moving Beyond Western Influence

  • Rise of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) as alternative funding sources without interference in domestic issues.

The Pacific

  • Global South region with sophisticated economies prior to European invasion.
  • Experiences of looting, oppression, and destabilization.

Development Challenges in the Pacific

  • Small land mass and limited resources.
  • Vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters.
  • Debt levels.
  • Reliance on tourism.
  • Importance of regional collaboration.
  • Dependence on natural resources.

Historical Exploitation

  • Peruvian slave trade (1862-1864): Removed significant portions of island populations.
  • Blackbirding: Capture of Pacific Islanders for labor in European-owned plantations.

Nauru

  • Example of Global North economic development through expropriation of land and resources in the Global South, specifically phosphate mining.

Independence and Continuing Ties

  • Many Global South populations have achieved independence but maintain economic, social, and cultural ties with former colonizers.
  • Settler colonialism remains ongoing in some areas.
  • Coloniality persists through structures upholding Western power.

New Caledonia

  • A non-self-governing territory of France.
  • France's actions contradict the UN Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.
  • The right to self-determination is an inalienable right.
  • Controversy over immigration protections and voting rights.

Inequality and Economic Insecurity

  • Capitalism seeks profits, often exploiting cheaper production in the Global South.
  • Can lead to dispossession, dependence, and ecological destruction.
  • Reliance on fossil fuels exacerbates climate change, threatening displacement.