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Pacific

foreign-policy-pacific

When European explorers came to the south Pacific in the sixteenth century, most islanders enjoyed the lifestyles of the richest lords in their home countries. Relative living standards for the majority of islanders in the 14 independent Pacific island states have now deteriorated to being among the lowest in the world, while small elites absorb great wealth. Crime, corruption and political unrest are the inevitable result. The research program analyses the causes of economic failure and suggests policies that would lead to modern living standards.

Publications

  1. The Bipolar Pacific

    Helen Hughes AO | 21 Aug 2008 | Issue Analysis

    Guest-worker schemes, which have been proposed as a development solution for the Pacific, no doubt benefit the individuals... Read More...

  2. FEATURE: The Illegal Pacific, Part 1: Organised Crime

    Susan Windybank | 04 Jun 2008 | POLICY Magazine

    Until the islands establish the rule of law, they will continue to suffer from the 'dark side' of globalisation.

  3. Five Out of Ten: A Performance Report on the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI)

    Gaurav Sodhi | 31 Jan 2008 | Issue Analysis

    The Solomon Islands is stagnating despite 30 years of aid flows of hundreds of millions of dollars, innumerable consultants’... Read More...

  4. FEATURE: What Creates Comparative Advantage for Drug Production? Lessons from Columbia

    Susan Windybank | 03 Mar 2007 | POLICY Magazine

    Political and social problems in Columbia created opportunities for illegal drug production, explains similar Francisco E... Read More...

  5. The HIV/AIDS Crisis in Papua New Guinea

    Miranda Darling Tobias | 08 Feb 2007 | Issue Analysis

    The rapid spread of HIV/AIDS in Papua New Guinea has created a health emergency, with at least 120,000 Papua New Guineans... Read More...

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Opinion & Commentary

  1. Pakistan a Chinese pawn to stall India

    John Lee | 19 Jul 2011 | The Australian

    AT the Shangri-La Dialogue meeting of defence ministers in Singapore last month, Indian Defence Minister Pallam Raju was ... Read More

  2. The Fiji meeting would be a farce if it were funny

    Helen Hughes AO | 30 Mar 2011 | The Canberra Times

    ‘Melanesia’ is an anthropologists’ construct that has no economic and little other sense. It the arcane world of United ... Read More

  3. What a difference a decade doesn't make to the lives of Pacific Islanders

    Helen Hughes AO | 12 Jun 2010 | The Australian

    Ten years after the UN pledged to address poverty and poor health and education levels in the Pacific region, the shameful ... Read More

  4. Army of well-paid advisers keep Pacific poor

    Helen Hughes AO | 22 Feb 2010 | The Australian

    Poorly targeted aid to the Pacific hinders rather than helps the region.... Read More

  5. Pacific angst

    John Lee | 11 Nov 2009 | Foreign Policy

    The very fact that America needs to negotiate with its Asian allies and partners – and sometimes even compromise – means ... Read More

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Ideas@TheCentre

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