ABSTRACT
In terms of Pacific international affairs, it is too easily forgotten that most of contemporary Oceania’s “insecurities” were originally caused in the first place by many of the massive industrialised nations surrounding that ocean, whose leaders are the most vocal about the “security” of the region. Studying the contemporary history of “insecurity” in the Marshall Islands contextualises and nuances the deep concerns that destabilize life for Pacific Islanders, rooted in colonialism, militarism and environmental challenges. More importantly, there is much to learn from paying attention to how Marshallese thinkers, artists and activists have long resisted and crafted responses to domination by competing colonisations, the destruction and loss of war, nuclear contamination and climate disaster. Marshallese, who have resiliently “survived and thrived” in the vast oceanscapes of Northern Oceania for millennia, have continued their ancestral legacies of navigating uncertainty, through the Cold War to the present. Redefining security as the remarkable ability to resist, endure and flourish despite incredible adversity reveals Islanders’ – and particularly women’s – roles as teachers, leaders and protectors of the planet in the twenty-first century.
