ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests what the future might hold in terms of the relationship between the most recent aid regime – retroliberalism – and other evolving scenarios. It discusses the possible rise of inward-looking nationalism that is currently taking shape, principally in Europe and the United States. Oceanic sovereignty depends on Pacific people maintaining and extending economic, social and political networks across the globe. Pacific officials could quote the Paris and Koror Declarations, which donors had endorsed, and use these to insist that local government leadership and ownership be respected and that donors align with this and harmonise their diverse operations and funding. The inverse sovereignty argument predicts that there is a negative relationship between aid flows and political dependence. The rise of autarkic populism in Australia is a worrying trend for the region for example and we have already seen this, the largest donor in the region, cut its aid budget substantially.
