The Foreigness of the State in the Pacific Islands

Current political problems in the Pacific Islands are often blamed on the foreign character of state institutions. The article questions this diagnosis, using ideas about 'the institutional' or 'policy transfer' and drawing on research on land registration, constitutions, public sector reform and anti-corruption policies. Each of these policies or institutions was introduced from outside the region and each is linked to current liberal ideas about 'good governance'. Some have stuck, and some have not. The article begins by reviewing the history of the state in the region and of ideas about 'the state' in Pacific Studies. It draws on sociological theory to identify three processes involved in transfer: coercion, mimesis and professionalisation. The article then identifies three factors important in determining whether transferred institutions 'stick': timing, the existence of international networks, and 'political settlements' among local social groups. In conclusion, it is argued that small, crisis-ridden political systems coming late to colonisation and decolonisation have been particularly open to transfer, and that underlying 'political settlements' will be important in determining the success of external interventions, like Australia's in the Solomon Islands.