Dr Crabbe presents a broad overview of the sociohistory of Hawaii following western contact and its colonisation by the United States (US). He describes the constant political, societal, and psychological struggles of Kānaka Maoli (native Hawaiians) against the never-ending tides of foreign influences to the shores of Hawaii. Within his sociohistorical overview, three significant issues for Kānaka Maoli are emphasised. One issue is that of 'Āina land. (The word 'Āina is capitalised throughout because, in the Native Hawaiian worldview, 'Āina is a living entity who gives and sustains life; it is an ancestor of the Hawaiian people, and it is important to the existence of Kānaka Maoli.) The second issue has to do with Kānaka Maoli is identity, which has been impacted by various foreign contacts and US colonisation that has negatively impacted traditional Hawaiian practices, customs, beliefs, language, and society. The constant struggle of Kānaka Maoli in regaining sovereignty, or self-determination, is a third issue of significance in Dr Crabbe's article. This article will briefly discuss the interplay among, and significance of, these three issues: 'Āina, Kānaka Maoli, and sovereignty, focusing on the importance and relevance of the first for the second and third.

The Western Pacific island of Guam, located in Micronesia has a long history of colonisation. Through centuries of warfare, violence, disease, subjugation, and disregard for basic human rights and freedom, the indigenous Chamoru people have been wounded and defeated in innumerable ways. They have persevered and survived throughout the centuries, despite their traumatic history, but not without consequences. This theoretical article explores those consequences and the traumatic ‘debris’ within the context of traumatology and post-traumatic stress disorder literature, the Jewish Holocaust experience, and the modern sociopolitical atmosphere on Guam. Finally, some recommendations that have themes of empowerment, reparations, cultural renaissance, and rebirth are offered to restore balance and peace to the lives of the native Chamoru of today's Guam.

In his article, Dr Rapadas provides a serious and thoughtful look into the traumatisation of an indigenous community. The article serves as a reminder of our history and as a call to those who believe that peace and justice are worthy and noble goals. The article also provides striking parallels to the struggles of Latinos, particularly Mexican Americans, in the United States.

In an age of conflict and violence, the human family seeks peace-building paradigms. ‘Wisdom’ in traditional Native American culture provides a lens for exploring peace psychology. Native American culture understands ‘wisdom’ to be, ‘that the people may live’. Living implies love of life, love of others' lives, and the right to life and dignity. Here lies wisdom, that people may live with peace and justice. The Cowlitz Indians of western Washington, United States (US), traditionally, based constructive relations on the wisdom of kinship values, an ethic of generosity and reciprocity towards the wider community. Despite land loss and assimilation efforts of the dominant society, the US federal government finally recognised the Cowlitz Nation. This long awaited acknowledgment, won through adherence to traditional wisdom and values, has provided affirmation ‘that the people may live’.

Consensus is an essential ingredient for conflict resolution, reconciliation, agreement, and peace in Melanesian societies. The psychological aspects of its positive influence in establishing a common ground between conflicting parties have not been explored. From a psycho-cultural perspective, I focus on the positive dynamism of consensus. I provide the Bougainville crisis within Papua New Guinea as a case vignette to illustrate the utility and significance of consensus in the search for concrete principles to unite a ‘disoriented’ world. In doing so, the issue of incorporating indigenous psychological knowledge into mainstream psychology becomes clearer. The article searches for psychological principles germane to reducing conflict and maintaining peace. This kind of utility is exemplified in a case study of achieving consensus in Papua New Guinea.

Leo Marai's article proposes to study the central role of consensus in conflict resolution in Melanesia and to describe its particular psycho-cultural characteristics. He applies his view to the resolution of the Bougainville crisis as an illustrative example.

Integrative complexity, the interaction of conceptual and cognitive rules, is used in processing information. High integrative complexity people evaluate situations and make decisions diversely; low integrative complexity people reason simplistically and dichotomously. We examined the social psychology of South/North Korean relations in their correspondence by an integrative complexity coding process. Time series analysis predicted mean levels of integrative complexity for each half-year period between 1984 and 1997. Analysis showed that South/North Korean relations exert significant influence on integrative complexity levels. We also found a mutual effect of integrative complexity levels in the two. Major coordinative events relate to a decline in integrative complexity in the following half-year period. During South Korean presidential elections, correspondence integrative complexity levels decline in both.

I will consider the important issues relating to peace psychology that Koo and Han raise in their article, South–North Korean Relations: the integrative complexity in correspondence. Their article carries out 5 significant tasks: (a) to present the theory, integrative complexity; (b) to add to our limited analysis of divided peoples; (c) to demonstrate the complexity of cross-cultural analysis; (d) to emphasise the need to integrate historical references, culture, and many other factors to our understanding of policy decisions; (e) to analyse the relationship of power, affiliation, and achievement, with integrative complexity.