Mapping Security in the Pacific

This book examines questions about the changing nature of security and insecurity in Pacific Island Countries (PICs). Previous discussions of security in the Pacific region have been largely determined by the geopolitical interests of the Global North. This volume instead attempts to centre PICs’ security interests by focussing on the role of organisational culture, power dynamics and gender in (in)security processes and outcomes.

Mapping Security in the Pacific underscores the multidimensional nature of security, its relationship to local, international, organisational and cultural dynamics, the resistances engendered through various forms of insecurities, and innovative efforts to negotiate gender, context and organisational culture in reducing insecurity and enhancing justice. Covering the Pacific region widely, the volume brings forth context-specific analyses at micro-, meso- and macro-levels, allowing us to examine the interconnections between security, crime and justice, and point to the issues raised for crime and justice studies by environmental insecurity. In doing so, it opens up opportunities to rethink scholarly and policy frames related to security/insecurity about the Pacific.

Written in a clear and direct style, this book will appeal to students and scholars in criminology, sociology, cultural studies, social theory and those interested in learning about the Pacific region and different aspects of security.

Sara N. Amin is Senior Lecturer and Coordinator of Sociology at the University of the South Pacific. Her research focusses on migration; identity politics, violence and security; gender relations; and education. She has two ongoing projects: Religion and Policing in the Pacific and Changing Gender Relations in Families in South Asia.

Danielle Watson is Lecturer and Coordinator of the Pacific Policing Programme at the University of the South Pacific. She conducts research on police/civilian relations on the margins with particular interests in hotspot policing, police recruitment and training as well as many other areas specific to policing in developing country contexts.

Christian Girard, PhD, is an independent researcher and development practitioner based in Fiji and a former assistant professor in development studies at the Asian University for Women in Bangladesh. His professional experience and research interests include vulnerability, poverty, informality, housing, governance and public policy in Asia-Pacific, Africa and Latin America.