When we first published the Pacific and Regionalism page, I declared that postings under this part of kaidravuni.com would kick off with two articles that had already been published as chapters in two previous book publications. This is yet to be done, but it will be in due course. I seek your pardon for this tardiness!

As part of our revitalisation, we have started instead by posting a series of articles that had been published in the regional magazine, Islands Business. This series of articles started back in late 2018 and reflect the issues that were current at the time. Reading them through will enable you to get a sense, not only of what was current at the time, but also the direction that Pacific regionalism has been taking since its establishment in 1971. Here is where you will find the growing archive of Islands Business articles.

My monthly contribution to Islands Business has now changed to one of quarterly. It may happen that my written contributions will taper off. However, that will not necessarily mean ending my interests in the Pacific and Pacific regionalism; there is still so much to do and focus on in Pacific regionalism via its 2050 Strategy on the Blue Pacific Continent, its recently-released Implementation Plan and in its yet-to-be-released Regional Architecture.

Currently, I am considering the prospect of a group participation in the evolution and assessments of Pacific regionalism and its future. It may only be a national perspective on Pacific regionalism. However, I anticipate that it will still be critical in the context of the wider Pacific regionalism.

The 2050 Strategy on the Blue Pacific Continent is essentially political regionalism.

Regional experts tend to categorize regionalism into: economic, security (defence) or political. The 2050 Strategy is not economic regionalism since it is not an economic trading bloc. It is not defence (security). For Pacific regionalism, the concept of defence (security) has had a reorientation. For Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), the existential security risk is not defence, but climate change. PIFs’ Boe Declaration encapsulates this and it has its independent existence.

If Pacific regionalism is your thing, you’ve come to the right place!