Regional Politics in Oceania

Stephanie Lawson is Honorary Professor of Politics and International Relations at Macquarie University, Honorary Professor in the Department of Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University, and Senior Research Associate in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Johannesburg. She is a past president of the Australian Political Studies Association, a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, and the current president of the Pacific Islands Political Studies Association. Her first book, The Failure of Democratic Politics in Fiji (1991) won the Australian Political Studies Association's Crisp Medal.

• 1. Oceania and the study of regions; 2. Demarcating Oceania; 3. Colonizing Oceania; 4. Regionalizing Oceania; 5. Transformations in regional organization; 6. Regionalism the 'Pacific way'; 7. The politics of subregional identity; 8. The Forum in regional politics; 9. Democracy and culture in regional politics; 10. The spectre of regional intervention; 11. The political economy of regionalism; 12. Geopolitics in the Pacific century; 13. Conclusion.

'The breadth and depth of Stephanie Lawson's knowledge makes this comprehensive survey of the modern Pacific Islands a valuable resource for all scholars of this unique region. Her careful engagement with the wider, global literature on key themes such as regional identity, decolonisation, and development positions Pacific Island nations in wider IR discourse and offers fertile ground for comparative studies at a time when Pacific small island state perspectives are increasingly prominent on the world stage.' Paul D'Arcy, Professor, Department of Pacific Affairs, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University