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7 - The Politics of Subregional Identity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2024

Stephanie Lawson
Affiliation:
Macquarie University, Sydney
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Summary

This chapter discusses the political salience of the Melanesia–Micronesia–Polynesia divide and its manifestation in subregional organizations: the Melanesian Spearhead Group and the Micronesian President’s Summit along with the Micronesian Chief Executive’s Summit and the Polynesian Leaders’ Group. All operate independently of the metropolitan powers. The Melanesian approach to valuing local traditions, encapsulated in ‘kastom’ discourses, have had a distinctive anti-colonial slant, but not an explicit anti-democratic stance. Also, the fact that the Pacific Way was akin to a ‘Polynesian Way’ in its early manifestation may explain the emergence of ‘Melanesianism’ as an alternative expression of identity. Until recently, Micronesia had demonstrated the weakest of subregional identities. A common Micronesian culture has rarely been expressed and subregionalism revolved largely around pragmatic issues. In the context of contemporary Forum politics, however, an explicit Micronesian identity has been asserted vis-à-vis the other two subregions, highlighting that it is the political context that largely determines how cultural identities are deployed.

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Regional Politics in Oceania
From Colonialism and Cold War to the Pacific Century
, pp. 172 - 197
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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