The Pacific Islands are highly diverse in political status, population, development, migration prospects, and potential for instability.
Resilience is most under challenge in western Melanesia: Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu are states-in-formation characterised by extraordinary linguistic and group diversity giving rise to weak consciousness of nationhood. Fiji is different: a weak democracy but a strong state. Health systems vary in effectiveness across the region and are least effective in Papua New Guinea.
Life for women in many Pacific countries is routinely constrained by fear of men, and women experience a high level of personal insecurity. Democracy has survived since independence in most Pacific countries, with the key exception of Fiji.
Bougainville is internally divided in the lead-up to the referendum on independence. The challenges to internal resilience in the Pacific Islands are both structural β in the form of issues arising from population, urbanisation, land, immigration, health and gender relations β and particular to the political situation in each Island nation. The total population of the Pacific Islands is forecast to grow from 11 million to This growth will present particular problems for development β disputes over land, for example β in PNG.
/collections/fd1879f70d99805fb280f1f9303cb3ad/lg-0.jpg "Babes in Honiara")
The region consists of dependent territories, states in free association with either the United States or New Zealand, and fully independent countries. They are extensions of metropolitan states, whose considerable subsidies underwrite high standards of living and guarantee domestic stability.
