Melanesia is characterised by complex interactions among land and natural resource uses, legal and political institutions, and interest groups. These interactions play out at the national level, where institutions have been profoundly shaped by an interplay of ‘local’ and ‘global’ orders and by the political and economic systems which affect natural resource exploitation.

Melanesia currently experiences many food and water security challenges that will be further exacerbated by the effects of climate change and evolving regional demographics. Australia remains the most influential actor in the region and contributes millions of dollars towards foreign aid, development and humanitarian assistance.

The concept of an emerging middle class provides a useful entry point for understanding significant developmental and political transformations in Timor-Leste and Melanesia and is important for informing development policies. Overview The emergence of a middle class has been identified as an important factor driving economic and political transitions in Asia and Africa. Class has...

Provides insights both into how sorcery and witchcraft practices and beliefs are playing out in contemporary Melanesia, and also the types of interventions that are being trialled or debated to address the problems associated with them. Introduction

This paper investigates an appropriate choice of anchor currency for a proposed Melanesian currency union under various hypothetical currency union arrangements. Drawing from the optimal currency area (OCA) theory and related extensions, the analysis focuses on the effects of a currency union on exchange rate volatility following similar approach by Scrimgeour (2002). Counterfactual exchange rate...