ABSTRACT
In late 2002 and early 2003, Solomon Islands was labelled a ‘failed’ or ‘failing’ state, a depiction that was influential in the decision of the Australian government to initiate what became the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI).1 This
discourse on the failed state produced a counter-discourse on the strength of Solomon Islands society. As Solomon Islands academic Gordon Nanau put it:
Through the conflict years, customary land tenure and traditional subsistence practices meant that economic collapse did not lead to widespread hunger.3 The durability of trans-local kinship meant that many who fled the conflict in Honiara and Guadalcanal had another home to which they could return. Traditional leadership, Christian church organisations, women’s groups, grassroots non-governmental organisations and other non-state institutions played a critical role in maintaining social order and, many have argued, preventing the civil crisis from worsening.4
