Government and Public Policy in the Pacific Islands

✍ Scribed by Graham Hassall

• Publisher: Emerald Publishing
• Year: 2020
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 231
• Series: Public Policy and Governance
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

The first comprehensive examination of how systems of government have emerged in the small and diverse developing island states of the Pacific Islands region, this study outlines the way in which government systems in the region have evolved from their pre-independence origins to their current political, constitutional, and public sector arrangements. Drawing on scholarship from the fields of law, history, anthropology, public policy, and public management, the author examines the ways in which culture, history, and the environment continue to influence contemporary policy challenges and policy processes in these states.
Recognising the significant challenges that small states face in terms of human and economic development, as well as how they must navigate between autonomy and self-reliance in some sectors, yet supra-national collaboration in others, the author argues that the future prosperity of the Pacific Islands region and the countries within it is not yet assured. Their economies struggle to keep pace with population growth and public aspirations, and service delivery in key sectors is often inadequate. Indeed, the fundamental challenge facing the Pacific Islands' leaders and governments is ensuring the adoption of policies and methods of implementation that, ultimately, pave the way for their continued development within the emerging global order.

✦ Table of Contents

Half Title Page
Series Page
Title Page
Contents
Abbreviations
Author Biography
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1: Pacific Islands Lifeworlds
1. Land and Sea
1.1. Land
1.1.1. Customary Ownership 
1.2. Sea
1.2.1. Minerals 
1.2.2. Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise 
2. People and Culture
2.1. Demographics
2.2. Human Development
2.3. Health
2.4. Education
2.5. Religious Belief and Practice
2.6. Culture and Public Service
3. Economy and Development
4. Traditional Governance
Chapter 2: Government Systems
1. Colonial Impositions
1.1. The Practice of Colonial Government
1.2. The League of Nations and the United Nations
1.3. Non-trusteeship Colonies
2. Decolonisation
3. The Scope of the State
3.1. The Constitution
3.2. The Role of Tradition
3.3. Democracy, Elections, and Electoral Administration
3.4. The Politics of ‘Westminster’
3.5. The Public Sector
3.5.1. Size, Shape, and Scope of the Public Sector and Its Entities
3.6. A Market or Regulatory State?
3.7. Multi-level Governance
4. Making Laws (The Legislature)
4.1. Parliament
4.1.1. Size
4.1.2. The Parliamentary Precinct
4.1.3. Structure and Representation
4.1.4. Standing Orders
4.1.5. The Frequency of General Elections and Formation of Government
4.1.6. Sitting Days
4.1.7. Legislative Performance
4.1.8. Parliamentary Committees
4.1.9. Constituency Performance
4.1.10. Constituency Development Funds
4.1.11. Summary
5. Governing (The Executive)
5.1. Political Economy of Public Leadership
5.2. Prime Minister/President and Cabinet
5.2.1. Cabinet Manuals
5.3. Number of Ministries
5.4. Ministerial-secretary Relations and Senior Appointment Processes
5.5. Central Agencies Coordination
5.6. Leading the Public Service
5.6.1. Permanent Secretaries/Director Generals/CEOs
5.7. Digital Transformation
5.8. Governing at Provincial and Local Levels
5.8.1. National Economic and Fiscal Commission
5.9. Accountability and System Maintenance
5.10. Anti-corruption Measures and Codes of Conduct
Chapter 3: Governance and Public Policy: The Interaction of Systems and Lifeworlds
1. Policy Models and Contexts
2. Visions and Plans
2.1. National Development Plans
3. Policy Actors and Networks
3.1. Experts, Consultants, and Civil Society
3.2. Multi-lateral Development Partners
3.3. Bi-lateral Partners
3.4. Policy Networks
4. Policy Discourse and Process
4.1. Policy Ownership
4.2. Paris Principles
4.3. Monitoring and Evaluation
4.3.1. Mass Media and Social Media
4.4. The Challenge of Implementation
4.5. ‘Wicked’ Policy Problems
5. Capacity Development and Reform
5.1. Public Sector Reform
5.2. Reform or Innovation?
5.3. Constitutional Reform
6. Pacific Regionalism and Policy Processes
6.1. The South Pacific Commission and the South Pacific Forum
6.2. Drivers of Regionalism
6.3. Pacific Regional Architecture
6.3.1. Council of Regional Organizations of the Pacific
6.3.2. The Pacific Community
6.3.3. Pacific Islands Forum
6.3.4. University of the South Pacific
6.3.5. CROP Working Groups
6.3.6. Other Regional Networks
6.3.7. Regional Policy Platforms
6.3.8. Monitoring at Regional and Global Levels
6.4. Pacific Regionalism Reform
6.4.1. Pacific Plan
6.4.2. The ‘Blue Pacific’
6.5. Threats to Regionalism?
6.6. Comparative Regionalism
6.6.1. Key Lessons
7. Small States in the Global Era
7.1. Three Scenarios for Small Island Developing States in the Global Era
7.1.1. Status Quo
7.1.2. Deterioration
7.1.3. Transformation
7.2. Towards Transformation: PICs as ‘Good States’, as ‘Intelligent States’
References
Index