The Politics of Dependencies - Essay Example

The Pacific group of countries includes the nations, which vary in land area, population size and also the availability of resources. This group includes countries which are small, vulnerable and also those states which are rich in resources like Fiji and Papua New Guinea. Regionalism in the Pacific basically means cooperation among the independent island states and the self governing territories ranging from Cook Islands to Papua New Guinea and it also includes New Zealand and the Northern Marianas islands. The Pacific Community which is the oldest intergovernmental organization also included two metropolitan states in the region, that is, Australia and New Zealand. It also included metropolitan states outside the region like United States, Britain, and France. There is an unambiguous support for regional cooperation among the Pacific islanders because they thought it to be a means to achieve social as well as economic development. On the other hand, it was observed that by giving the necessary aids, metropolitans like Australia and New Zealand were fulfilling their “strategic interests” and shaping the concept of regionalism according to their needs. Under such circumstances the essence of regionalism loses its hold. The signing of treaties like the South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement (SPARTECA) between Australia and New Zealand with other island countries enabled duty free access to goods. This agreement also included other technical and economic benefits. One often comes across one sided use of power in case of the metropolitan states. Australia, for example, in 2001 manipulated the Pacific countries under the garb of huge financial resources to house those refugees who were denied entry into Australia (Bryant-Tokalau & Frazer, 1-17).

THE POLITICS OF DEVELOPMENT: MODERNIZATION VS. DEPENDENCY THEORY

Poverty in the poor countries has been a major issue in the modern world. Social scientists seek to explain this anomaly and their answers come under different schools of thought. Modernization theory, which has originated in the developed countries as a strong means of social science, seeks to examine the reason for the origin of poverty in the third world countries. In their views, little suggestion regarding the contribution of the developed country for their plight is acknowledged. The modernists regard that the traditional nature of society, which is characterized by stagnation is responsible for the poverty. According to them capitalism is the key to success and to make the transition from traditional to modern society one has to embrace capitalism to introduce innovation and technological progress just like what Europe had done in its early stages. On the contrary, theorists of the Dependency Theory feel that due to expansionist policies of the developed countries the Third World countries are in a state of impoverishment. The dependency school acknowledges the increasing number of capitalists in the Third World, but does not agree to the fact that this class has the strength to lead the countries along the path of development. In case of the Pacific countries one can see that following the Modernization theory they have open their door to foreign investment and liberalization policies but all these have not changed the economic scenario of the region except for few countries.

GLOBALIZATION, NEO-LIBERALISM, AND THE GOOD GOVERNANCE AGENDA

Globalization is a phenomenon which has affected countries in every corner of the world. It is in fact a common theme found even in the Pacific islands. The crux of globalization lies in the fact that it involves increment in the flow of capital across the world, trade grows at a quicker pace and there is technological innovation. Globalization in the Pacific Island economies existed during the period 1850, to 1914 when trading with the world economy began with the arrival of the traders. The second phase of globalization was observed during the 1970, when the Pacific Island countries started following the agenda of globalization. Being heavily dependent on aid, these countries have to follow recommendations of their donors, international financial institutions, and investors. Australia had been one of the major proponents of globalization agenda. According to them these countries would be subjected to abject poverty unless they embrace globalization. This involved reducing the number of public sector, reduction of tariffs, and more free play of the private enterprise and complete influx of foreign capital. Australia in fact had decided to provide aid to the Pacific Island government on the condition that they reduce the size of civil services and there should be more foreign investment. The European Union also spoke in the same tone and also urged for “structural adjustment”, “integration in the global economy” and “good governance.” Under these circumstances the Pacific Island countries had no other choice but to accept the liberalization policies in the late 1990s. Under the mounting international pressure they had to give in. Accordingly the leaders of the Forum Island States negotiated regional free trade area in 1999 and it came into effect in 2003. Globalization however has not been able to bring about a good economic performance among the Pacific group of countries except for Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.

WEST MEETS EAST IN THE PACIFIC: THE RISE OF CHINA IN THE REGION

The development of the Chinese economy which was at one point sagging was an important event in the world of history and politics. The open door policy of the Chinese brought about immense improvement in its economy and there soon developed the need to venture out in order to meet the growing domestic demand. China is a part of the Pacific group of countries and it is one of the strongest economies even in terms of its contribution to the GDP of this region. However China’s increasing assertive presence in this region has been a major topic for discussion and a lot has been written about it. The rise of the Chinese has received mixed opinion because it is felt that china’s rise is accompanied by opportunities as well as challenges. China’s entry in this region has been accepted by many as a growing reality whereas concerns have been seen among countries like Japan and Taiwan. However there are many writers who have quite openly expressed their concern regarding impact China’s presence would have on the Pacific. A glance at the economic perspective would the fact that if satisfaction of domestic need brought China over here then also became a source of benefit for the states in the Pacific island. The entry of China has also brought a lot of investments and trade relations were established between the two countries. However the presence of China has also lead to the emergence of few problems like depression of wages. Apart from that the working conditions of the workers in mines was also questioned. The quest for political supremacy between Taiwan and China was considered to be a source of problem for the islanders. On the contrary it was seen that advantage in the form of increasing aid was enjoyed by the islanders because of this rift. China as a result of its strong economic performance has emerged as a strong power and countries like Fiji was interested in establishing diplomatic relations with China. Often the diplomatic competition between China and Taiwan was considered to be a source of entanglement for the other Pacific countries but on the flip side advantages were also reaped in by these countries in the form of additional aid. Chinese system of working had been under the scanner but their presence has also brought about certain amount of economic benefits. Many writers have projected the presence of China as an eminent threat to America’s position but no concrete proof has been provided yet.

THE POLITICS OF LAND REFORM

The notion of land reform has been a very complicated and sensitive issue in the Pacific and there have been views of different people which are often conflicting and also valid in nature. In the Pacific region one finds customary ownership as the principal form of land tenure in this region. Under this system rights of the land are managed by customary groups which are in turn motivated by the social and spiritual belief system. This system has been successfully operating in this region for a long time. This system is now facing the challenge of providing the required land tenure security and the ability to adapt to changing forces. These forces include social change, technological change and others. Proponents of land reforms argue that the insecurity regarding the recognition of the rights can be addressed if such reforms are implemented. Adoption of land reform policies will enable the process of recognition and support for customary systems and they can be linked to legal and economic systems. Benefits can be reaped for everyone by improvement in land security. The dual existence of the customary and formal institutions in the Pacific requires them to work harmoniously for the betterment of the Pacific people. Security in land tenure provides a lot of benefits and the Pacific countries are recognizing its importance. This is evident from the fact that Papua New Guinea has been implementing programs so as to make its land administration systems stronger, to increase availability of customary land for aid development. In order to realize protection of customary ownership, transparent land dealing, and sustainable development Vanuatu since 2005 has been developing various policies of land reforms. Similarly Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga, East Timor, and Kiribati are on the process of adopting land reform policy.

CONFLICTS AND CRISES: CAUSES, TRENDS, AND IMPLICATIONS

The Pacific Islands of Oceania as always been projected as place filled with peace and its pictures had been flashed across the media to promote tourism. However the recent activities of instability and political conflicts have changed the entire scenario (Murray & Storey, 213). Democracy seems to be in a grave danger in this region. Democracy was thought to be the ideal form of government after the end of the cold war but this notion received a blow because of a series of events that took place in this region (Reilley, 265). The year 1987 witnessed the first military coup in Fiji. There was also a civil war throughout the 1990s which involved a lot of bloodshed in Bougainville’s attempt to break away from Papua New Guinea. More coups were seen in the year 2000 in Fiji and Solomon Islands. For the next three years there was violence in Solomon Islands due military actions. Regions like Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and Vanuatu had also witnessed army mutinies (Henderson, 3). Proponents of democracy argue that this form of government leads to economic growth and development but no such thing was seen in case the Pacific. There was a transition of this region from being “an oasis of democracy” to being an “arc of instability” (Reilley, 262). Land issues can be said to be the most important reason for the conflicts. In fact it was the fear of land that started the coup in Fiji in the year 2000. In case of the conflicts observed in Solomon Islands and Bougainville, it involved land, ethnicity, and money as the major issues (Henderson, 10-11).