In the course of Tonga's political reform, the devolution of executive powers was incomplete due to the retention by the Monarch of several specific powers that have remained defined in the Constitution ever since its promulgation in 1875. Why did this occur? Abstract The subjects of this paper are the Kingdom of Tonga, its Monarchy...

In this critical period of transition, the most important thing that the Australian government and other members of the international community can do is help Solomon Islanders reverse a recent history of defunding and dismantling the institutions of subnational government. Abstract Over the past decade, RAMSI has stabilized the state in Solomon Islands, but many...

This paper explores how the concept of ‘political settlement’ in statebuilding arose, identifies its essential elements, the level of consensus around them, and tests out some of its normative content. Abstract Over the past five years, several major international development policy statements and declarations have adopted ‘political settlement’ as a framing concept to guide statebuilding...

This paper examines Papua New Guinea's track record in assessing and resettling asylum seekers, its current obligations under the 2013 Regional Resettlement Arrangement, and the sustainability of this arrangement. Introduction In the lead-up to the Australian Federal Election in September 2013, public attention focused dramatically on Papua New Guinea (PNG) in terms of the joint...

Introduction The Solomon Islands Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was the first truth commission in the Pacific, established under the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act 2008 (TRC Act) in an effort to ‘promote national unity and reconciliation’ following the civil conflict which troubled the country between 1998 and 2003. The commission was publicly launched in...