Power and Influence in the Pacific Islands : Understanding Statecraftiness

This book outlines an analytical framework to understand power, influence, and statecraft in the Pacific Islands region. With contributions by scholars from the United States, Australia, China, New Zealand, and across the Pacific Islands region, it provides ‘both sides of the story’ of statecraft and explores how power and influence are being exercised in the Pacific Islands.

Amid escalating strategic competition, the United States, China, Australia, and a range of other partners are trying to exercise power and influence in their Pacific Islands region through their statecraft. But which partners are doing what, where are they doing it, and how are Pacific Island countries and people responding? Through case studies of key examples – such as economic assistance, defence diplomacy, scholarships, and strategic narratives – this book analyses how tools of statecraft are being deployed by a range of key partners and Pacific Island states, and how they are being received by Pacific Island countries and people.

A vital resource for scholars and practitioners in International Relations and diplomacy as well as those seeking to understand how statecraft, power, and influence are being exercised in the Pacific Islands region.

The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

Joanne Wallis is Professor of International Security and director of the Stretton Institute ‘Security in the Pacific Islands’ research program at the University of Adelaide, and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. She is the author or editor of ten books on security in the Pacific Islands region.

Henrietta McNeill is a Research Fellow in the Department of Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University. She has published in Political Geography, The Contemporary Pacific, and International Relations of the Asia-Pacific. She was awarded a 2021 Fulbright New Zealand General Graduate Award.

Michael Rose is an anthropologist and adjunct fellow of the School of Social Sciences at the University of Adelaide.

Alan Tidwell is Professor of Practice and Director of the Center for Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Studies (CANZPS) at the Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service. His areas of interest include Australian-American relations, smaller states of Oceania, and conflict resolution.