Suchergebnisse

The modern prison system in PNG has a relatively short history. For much of the colonial period the imprisonment of offenders, usually for short periods, was administered as an integral part of the larger system of �native administration�. Prisons were viewed by colonial officials as educational institutions in which prisoners learned about the ways of the Europeans and acquired respect for the authority of the colonial government. �Education� consisted primarily of physical labour and prisoners were utilised in a range of public works from grass-cutting to road construction. Every government station had its own gaol under the control of the resident magistrate who served simultaneously as judge, jury, prosecutor and jailer. The first prisons provided important sources of recruitment for some of the early members of the �native constabulary�, as well as offering other Papua New Guineans employment in some of the only minor positions in the colonial government that were then open to indigenes (Reed 2003, 29�42).

With the deployment of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands in July 2003, the former Howard Government initiated its robust new engagement with Australia's Pacific island neighbours. Interventions with an initial security focus have been portals to broader and ambitious state-building exercises. The quest to integrate security and development agendas lies at the heart of 'the new interventionism'. This article examines the evolution and character of this approach, as well as reviewing its implementation in the two case studies of Solomon Islands (RAMSI) and Papua New Guinea (ECP). It also discusses the significance for Australia/Pacific relations of the recent change of government in Canberra and the differences (and similarities) to be anticipated under Prime Minister Rudd's Labor Government.

In this paper we begin by defining and examining the concept of police building. Its historical precedents and contemporary forms are briefly reviewed, showing a variety of motives and agendas for this kind of institution building. We argue that police building has been a relatively neglected dimension of nation- and state-building exercises, despite its importance to functions of pacification and restoration of law and order. The emerging literature on international police reform and capacity building tends to adopt a narrow institutionalist and universalistic approach that does not take sufficient account of the politics of police building. This politics is multilayered and varies from the formal to the informal. Using two case studies focusing on events in 2006 in Timor-Leste and Solomon Islands, the reasons for the fragility of many current police-building projects are considered. In both cases, we argue, police capacity builders paid insufficient attention to the political architecture and milieu of public safety.

The plural character of policing provision in most countries is now widely acknowledged, though rarely reflected in the practical police reform programming undertaken by donors. While much of the literature on international police assistance focuses on its modest results and innate limitations, less attention has been paid to those still relatively rare programmes that have sought to engage with the local realities of plural policing. This is particularly so in the conflict-affected and fragile settings where such assistance is typically provided. In this article, we present three case studies of policing innovation and experimentation from Timor-Leste, Solomon Islands and Bougainville, respectively, set in the context of the recent and very different post-conflict interventions in each place. While not wishing to overstate the impact of these modest programmes, we highlight their potential contribution to fostering productive relations across the multiple social orders and sources of authority found in many post-colonial, post-conflict and otherwise fragile contexts. We tentatively conclude that the most significant contribution of these kinds of initiative is likely to lie beyond the realm of institutionalised policing and, specifically, in relation to larger processes of social and political change, including state formation, under way in these places.

Drawing upon recent critiques of the ways in which organised political violence in the global 'South' is interpreted and responded to, this paper examines the recent conflict and intervention in Solomon Islands. We argue that standardised liberal templates have served to frame both the aetiology of the Solomons conflict and the manner of its proposed resolution. Australia's intervention in Solomon Islands can be said to represent the 'local North' as it seeks to impose a liberal peace over a 'deviant' and 'unruly' neighbour. We draw upon published material to highlight the social, cultural and historical contexts of the conflict. We then demonstrate how the 'off-the-shelf' intervention, with its emphasis on asserting a liberal peace, fails to account for these complex social dimensions of the conflict. The antinomies of conflict and intervention in Solomon Islands demonstrate how both the liberal interpretation of developingcountry conflict and its bedfellow, the liberal peace, attempt to divorce conflicts from their social contexts. In doing so, the demonstrable potential for violent intrastate conflict to result in positive social transformation is reduced.

With the deployment of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands in July 2003, the former Howard Government initiated its robust new engagement with Australia's Pacific island neighbours. Interventions with an initial security focus have been portals to broader and ambitious state-building exercises. The quest to integrate security and development agendas lies at the heart of 'the new interventionism'. This article examines the evolution and character of this approach, as well as reviewing its implementation in the two case studies of Solomon Islands (RAMSI) and Papua New Guinea (ECP). It also discusses the significance for Australia/Pacific relations of the recent change of government in Canberra and the differences (and similarities) to be anticipated under Prime Minister Rudd's Labor Government.

In this paper we begin by defining and examining the concept of police building. Its historical precedents and contemporary forms are briefly reviewed, showing a variety of motives and agendas for this kind of institution building. We argue that police building has been a relatively neglected dimension of nation- and state-building exercises, despite its importance to functions of pacification and restoration of law and order. The emerging literature on international police reform and capacity building tends to adopt a narrow institutionalist and universalistic approach that does not take sufficient account of the politics of police building. This politics is multilayered and varies from the formal to the informal. Using two case studies focusing on events in 2006 in Timor-Leste and Solomon Islands, the reasons for the fragility of many current police-building projects are considered. In both cases, we argue, police capacity builders paid insufficient attention to the political architecture and milieu of public safety.

Drawing upon recent critiques of the ways in which organised political violence in the global 'South' is interpreted and responded to, this paper examines the recent conflict and intervention in Solomon Islands. We argue that standardised liberal templates have served to frame both the aetiology of the Solomons conflict and the manner of its proposed resolution. Australia's intervention in Solomon Islands can be said to represent the 'local North' as it seeks to impose a liberal peace over a 'deviant' and 'unruly' neighbour. We draw upon published material to highlight the social, cultural and historical contexts of the conflict. We then demonstrate how the 'off-the-shelf' intervention, with its emphasis on asserting a liberal peace, fails to account for these complex social dimensions of the conflict. The antinomies of conflict and intervention in Solomon Islands demonstrate how both the liberal interpretation of developingcountry conflict and its bedfellow, the liberal peace, attempt to divorce conflicts from their social contexts. In doing so, the demonstrable potential for violent intrastate conflict to result in positive social transformation is reduced.

The plural character of policing provision in most countries is now widely acknowledged, though rarely reflected in the practical police reform programming undertaken by donors. While much of the literature on international police assistance focuses on its modest results and innate limitations, less attention has been paid to those still relatively rare programmes that have sought to engage with the local realities of plural policing. This is particularly so in the conflict-affected and fragile settings where such assistance is typically provided. In this article, we present three case studies of policing innovation and experimentation from Timor-Leste, Solomon Islands and Bougainville, respectively, set in the context of the recent and very different post-conflict interventions in each place. While not wishing to overstate the impact of these modest programmes, we highlight their potential contribution to fostering productive relations across the multiple social orders and sources of authority found in many post-colonial, post-conflict and otherwise fragile contexts. We tentatively conclude that the most significant contribution of these kinds of initiative is likely to lie beyond the realm of institutionalised policing and, specifically, in relation to larger processes of social and political change, including state formation, under way in these places.

This evaluation assesses the performance of the Community Officer (CO) project, a trial community policing mechanism initiated by the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) in late 2009, with assistance from the Participating Police Force (PPF) of the Regional Assistance to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). Current interest in community policing in Solomon Islands is occurring in the larger context of the rebuilding and reform of the RSIPF that has been taking place with the assistance of RAMSI. The Solomon Islands Government (SIG) and RSIPF are committed to introducing a viable form of community policing across the country.