Sinclair Dinnen & Allison Ley (Ed.s)
Published by Hawkins Press / Asia Pacific Press
Activists, commentators and academics from throughout Melanesia reflect on aspects of violence in a region so often depicted as the tropical paradise of tourist brochures.
The background is the dislocation caused by the impact of globalisation on cultures where plantation economies have already been grafted onto traditional pre-colonial societies. Chapter by chapter, the authors document the diverse meanings of violence in the region, making plain the huge variation in its nature and level across different Melanesian contexts.
Acknowledging the considerable levels of violence experienced in some parts of Melanesia, the authors show the complexity of its phenomena and the folly of propounding simple explanations and simple solutions for a remarkably diverse group of island societies. They challenge the thoughtless applicability of Western law to the Melanesian world, noting that indigenous patterns of restorative justice, retribution and reconciliation continue to operate in conjunction with more modern forms. Furthermore, there are major paradoxes in the disappointments of reforms that have failed, and the ramifications of colonial plantation and mining economies.
Book Review in the Journal of South Pacific Law
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