Dive into the archives.
- End of Oceania Day
This summer we were treated to a very special series here on Coming Anarchy: Oceania Day. Each week our guest bloggers the strategist and Phil Howison from Pacific Empire would school us on what is going on in the south pacific. We learned about the various regions, cultures, security issues and the activities of China [...]
- The Fighter’s Guard: Australia and the ‘Arc of Instability’
[It’s Oceania Day again, brought to you by the Strategist. We had some technical difficulties bringing you the post, but better late than never. – YH]
Back so soon? Australian troops patrolling in Honiara, Solomon Islands, April 2006.
It’s easy to understand why Canberra worries about the island arc to Australia’s north – Indonesia, New Guinea, and Melanesia. [...]
- Cursed by riches: Melanesian resource wars
Lihir gold mine, Papua New Guinea
A history of conflict
As has been explored in previous Oceania Day posts, conflict in Oceania – particularly in Melanesia – is often related to resources. The prime example is Bougainville, where in 1989 – in a scene straight out of John Robb’s Brave New War – angry landowners toppled [...]
- The White Man’s Anger
[The latest post in our ongoing Oceania Day series comes from the strategist who teaches us about the military history of his home country, and how it influenced modern warfare. — YH]
In the mid-19th century, fighting raged across much of New Zealand’s North Island as Maori tribes resisted the advance of British troops and land-hungry [...]
- Fanning the Embers: China and Instability in Oceania
Razed buildings in Honiara, Solomon Islands, April 2006.
Much of the debate about China’s rise in Oceania focuses on strategic considerations. Will Oceania become an arena of strategic competition between the US and China? How will China’s rise affect the interests of longstanding Pacific players, such as the US, Australia, New Zealand and Japan? But what [...]
- Transnational crime and street gangs in Oceania
[Pacific Empire’s Phil Howison brings us this week’s edition of Oceania Day – YH]
Home-grown street gangs are a growing threat to Oceania’s island states. In addition, criminal organizations from around the world have taken advantage of the economic vulnerability and weakness of the Pacific islands, using them as bases for money laundering, drug smuggling, [...]
- A Long Game: The Rise of China in Oceania
Hooray! It’s Oceania Day once again. This time the strategist gives us some insight into the changing power balance in the South Pacific. – YH
Oceania is often seen as a strategic backwater, isolated from the whirlpool of great power politics. This is far from true. In the 19th century, Western powers carved up Oceania’s islands. [...]
- Oceania: The “arc of instability” and the “Africanization of the South Pacific”
[Special guest blogger Phil Howison of Pacific Empire brings us his second installment introducing Oceania’s geography for our Oceania Day series. Enjoy! — YH]
Last week I wrote:
But by the 1980s, it was clear that the region was no longer entirely peaceful… Democracy appeared to be weakening, and one academic warned of “Africanisation,” forecasting a dark [...]
- Oceania’s regions: Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia
[Special guest blogger Phil Howison of Pacific Empire brings us the second installment of our Oceania Day series. Rejoice! — YH]
The Strategist posted last week on conflict in Melanesia, a region within Oceania alongside Micronesia and Polynesia. To keep this series in context, we need to define these sub-regions, as they have distinct security [...]
- Dark Side of Paradise: Conflict in Melanesia
[Today is Oceania Day! The following is the first post in the series by special guest blogger the strategist. ”“ Younghusband]
Ask New Zealanders what springs to mind about Oceania, and the answer will involve palm-fringed islands and blue lagoons – paradise. Pacific islands are holiday destinations, places to escape winter. It’s easy to forget that [...]
