Pacific Diplomacy

The Pacific islands has been at the centre of geopolitical and diplomatic contestations. Since 2009 there has been a fundamental shift in the way that the Pacific Island states engage with regional and world politics. The region has experienced what former Kiribati President Anote Tong aptly called a 'paradigm shift' in ideas about how Pacific diplomacy should be organised, and on what principles it should operate. Many leaders have called for a heightened Pacific voice in global affairs and a new commitment to establishing Pacific Island control of diplomatic processes. This change in thinking has been expressed in the establishment of new channels and arenas for Pacific diplomacy at the regional and global levels and new ways of connecting the two levels through active use of intermediate diplomatic associations. This 'new' Pacific diplomacy has seen real success in diplomatic outcomes in key sectors of global negotiations for Pacific states such as fisheries, climate policy, decolonisation and trade. This course examines this new diplomatic agency on the part of Pacific Island states and explores its impact on relations with larger states - such as Australia, China, France and Indonesia - as well as on the shape of the regional institutional architecture. It also questions what this experience tells us about the power of small states to influence diplomatic outcomes in world affairs.