ABSTRACT
Commonwealth Oceania has always been distinctive. Once the furthest periphery of the empire, it is now the association’s most scattered regional grouping; Australia and New Zealand, the original core, were notable global pioneers of democratic government. They remain, along with Britain, as democracy hard liners in the Commonwealth. The Pacific Island members, by contrast, were the countries where decolonisation was the most delayed and where democracy became most doubtful. By the time Empire had been dismantled in Commonwealth Asia, and was closing down in Africa and the Caribbean, it was still expected that most of the Pacific Islands could never be independent. Since independence, they have had chequered histories and become known as MIRAB states – dependent on migration, remittances, aid and bureaucracy. Nevertheless, if the elements analysed in Part One of this volume are considered, Commonwealth Oceania certainly offers topics of interest.
