Civil Society and Governance in the Pacific (original) (raw)
Related papers
2013
A great deal of analytical and practical effort has gone into development in our region, with much of the focus on "strengthening various aspects of governance in the Pacific" (AusAID 2006a, p. 94). However, to date such donor supported governance strengthening initiatives have made little headway (Saldanha 2004, p. 36). There are several reasons for this. One reason is that much of the effort has been directed towards top-down approaches focused on core state institutions and has typically involved institutional or public sector reform. This focus on the supply side of governance has, it is increasingly recognized, met with only limited success (Malena, Forster and Singh 2004, p. 1). Another reason is that the vast majority of governance related reforms have been initiated to meet "conditionality-based lending" requirements rather than in response to locally or internally driven calls for reform (Saldanha 2004, p. 36-38). They have therefore lacked sustained commitment, which has detrimentally impacted upon outcomes. Increasingly, too, it is recognised that strategies and programs to improve governance "are likely to be undermined if there is no ability for the community to directly demand accountability from their governments (Walker 2007, p. 3).
Strategies for Good Governance in the Pacific
Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, 2004
Governance problems in the Pacific find their roots in deeply embedded political and social issues such as the structures of government, the quality of leadership, and the capacity of civil society to hold government accountable. These root causes are not easily addressed by outsiders, such as donors. Yet, governance is so fundamental to the development process that development agencies have a responsibility to assist. The options available to them are relatively limited, however, given that sustained change can only occur if driven from within. But there are courses of action available to development agencies and this paper has outlined a few. They do not necessarily need substantial amounts of funding. But they do need persistent and continuing effort and support and a substantial change of strategy by donors.
Governance challenges for Pacific Island states
Fijian Studies: A Journal of Contemporary Fiji, 2004
Pacific Island states are being pressed to improve governance both by international institutions and aid donors, and by the need to provide for citizens. In a number of Pacific countries modern politics has clashed with traditional practices of leadership, consultation and resource management. Parliaments in some cases are not performing as they should to check executive power and scrutinise government accounts, and the transparency of decision-making by state agencies needs to be improved. An active and confident civil society, aware of its rights and assisted by an active and informed media, can add significantly to good governance. At the regional level the Pacific Islands Forum is embarking on a Pacific Plan that includes key good governance objectives. There are positive developments such as digitization of communications, the emergence of a welleducated class and civil society sector, and the expansion of the media, which will give greater access to global information.
Good Governance in the Pacific? Ambivalence and Possibility
Geoforum, 2007
In September 2005, the Pacific Islands Forum issued a finalized Pacific Plan. The overarching goal of the Plan is to ''Enhance and stimulate economic growth, sustainable development, good governance and security for Pacific countries through regionalism.'' In this paper we focus on the salient role of (good) governance in the Plan. Governance has become a keyword, albeit a deeply ambivalent one, in development and foreign policy realms and the Pacific is now a particularly intense site of activities understood in terms of governance. Governance has become an important vehicle through which intervention in the region is imagined and realized.
Political Governance in the Pacific Islands
Building effective state institutions and promoting national unity were among Pacific Island leaders' top priorities in the post-independence decades of the second half of the twentieth century. The twenty-first century, however, is presenting the challenges of a more globalized world: climate change is foremost among these, as well as the influences of global finance, global commerce and telecommunications, new geo-strategic alignments, and the rising expectations of ever-more educated, youthful, and informed populations. Other issues causing concern across the region include corruption in public life, the conduct of parliaments, under-representation of women in public life, resource exploitation that trades long-term environmental degradation for only short-term economic gain, and ongoing public sector challenges in delivering basic public services. Pacific societies have some of the highest rates of NCDs for any part of the world, and Human Development Indicators for the Pacific Island Countries have deteriorated over the past decade rather than improved (of the Commonwealth countries in this study, only Fiji has risen in rank in the past five years). This is the context in which leaders of the Pacific states seek, in the coming decades, to advance the well-being of their peoples. The tools at their disposal to accomplish this are the political and legal institutions introduced at the time of independence, as modified in the light of experience. There are also many strategic and sectoral plans at national and regional levels; there is the Sustainable Development Agenda (2015-2030), agreed on by all countries at the United Nations, which provides a comprehensive set of targets for the coming decade and a half, and there are the resilient Pacific people, who live in some 90 cities and towns, 25,000 villages, and an unrecorded number of informal settlements – scattered throughout the islands.
Political Governance - Pacific Vision 2050
This is a draft chapter on Political Governance for a book project of the Commonwealth Secretariat called "Pacific Vision 2050". I am posting it here to seek your feedback as we work toward a final consultation in Suva in October. Political governance refers to how power is acquired, and the structure and operation of a state's political, legal and other governmental institutions as they seek to lead and manage a nation's growth and development. It also refers to the extent to which this growth and development is experienced equitably by the people, and implies participation of the private and voluntary sectors in policy debate. In addition to good leadership at the political level, effective governance demands adequate functioning of parliaments, courts, government departments, and other agencies, as well as acceptance of the roles of media, civil society, academia, traditional leaders, and business leaders, in putting forward views about how governments should lead.
Governance paradoxes and pathways in Pacific Island countries
2018
My talk today focusses on certain key questions that relate to the governance ecosystem of Pacific Island Countries (PICS). Firstly, I argue that policy makers, governments and Pacific citizens have systematically undervalued the importance of governance transformations to their well-being and to their future. Secondly I argue that the costs of bad-poor and unsatisfactory governance across the PICS to Pacific islanders and their economies has been high but because this is indirect and ambiguous at times these costs are poorly understood. I thirdly propose a limited, narrow and problem-driven governance transformation agenda for Pacific Island stakeholders, development partners and researchers that may be most impactful.
Governance and Democracy in the Asia-Pacific Political and Civil Society
Routledge, 2020
This book explores the theoretical and empirical relationship between democracy and governance in the Asia-Pacific region. Examining a variety of country cases and themes addressing the theoretical tension between governance and democracy, it illuminates how this impacts political and civil societies across the region. Analysing the character, structure and current trajectories of polities in the Asia-Pacific, democratic or otherwise, this book demonstrates that the role of civil society, political society and governance has significantly differed in practice from what has been commonly assumed within the international community. The book includes both theoretical investigations tracing the modern development of the concepts of governance, development and democratization as well as regional and country-specific observations of major issues, presenting comprehensive country-level studies of China, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. Presenting fascinating insight into non-democratic governance, civil society and the rule of law in illiberal contexts, Governance and Democracy in the Asia-Pacific will prove to be of great use to students and scholars of Asian politics and society, as well as international and comparative politics.