Australia’s Arc of Instability

The idea for this book emerged from a conversation between Vivian Forbes and Charles Eaton following two seminars held in the Department of Geography at the University of Western Australia given by Trevor So?eld and Christopher Grif?n more than ?ve years ago. One seminar involved papers from Charles Eaton and Christopher Grif?n on the recent Speight coup in Fiji; the other, given by Trevor So?eld, was on the Solomon Islands. The seminars were attended by, among others, Dennis Rumley, who on getting involved in the conversation, suggested the idea of a book and then followed through on its scope, structure, planning, and possible contributors. Looking back now, we owe a special debt of gratitude to Charles Eaton both for his enthusiasm and his ideas then, and for his continued support throughout the whole project. Since that time ?ve years ago, many people have boarded and have left the Arc. Indeed, the very project itself exhibited a degree of instability. At times, it even looked as though it might not stay a?oat. Thankfully, several early boarders remained ?rmly anchored. Other authors were co-opted later, some at relatively short notice, one or two of them under mild duress. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all of these contributors for remaining patient, enthusiastic, and keeping faith with the project. Naturally, a project like this, dealing with such a large and dynamic region, will always be out-of-date.

List of Figures. List of Tables. Contributors. Preface. Introduction. 1: The Emergence of Australiäs Arc of Instability, Dennis Rumley. 2: Australiäs Maritime Space: Conflict and Cooperation, Vivian Louis Forbes. 3: Australiäs Unauthorised Arrivals: Security. Threat or Moral Responsibility? Trudy Hoad. 4: Christmas Island: Remote No More, Ee Tiang Heng, Vivian Louis Forbes. 5: Indonesia and the Arc of Instability, Bilveer Singh. 6: East Timor in the Arc of Instability, James Dunn. 7: West Papua: Indonesiäs 26th Province or Australiäs New Neighbour? Keith Suter. 8: Discontents of Daily Life in the South Pacific, William C. Clarke. 9: Papua New Guinea: Disorderly Democracy or Dysfunctional State? Ron May. 10: Solomon Islands: Unity in Diversity ¿ the End of a Dream? Trevor Sofield. 11: Nauru in the Arc of Instability: Too Many Degrees of Freedom? Richard Herr, Donald Potter. 12: Vanuatu 2001-2004: Political Will and the Containment of Unrest, Michael Morgan. 13: The French Geopolitical Project in New Caledonia, Dennis Rumley. 14: Unity, Identity, Nation Building: Challenges to Fijian Leadership, Christopher Griffin. 15: Rock of Ages: Tension Underlying Stability in Tonga, Ian Campbell. 16: Samoa: Australiäs Pacific Success Story? Penelope Schoeffel, Malama Meleisea. Conclusion: Future Prospects and Possibilities.