Politics in the Pacific: the Cases of Vanuatu and Australia

This paper briefly attempts to look at some different uses of the concept of governance in relation to two very different types of polity. When the term is used in relation to the small states in the Pacific, for example to Vanuatu, a series of assumptions is often made about the benchmark of good governance to be applied. In the case of Australia, however, some very different assumptions are made. It depends here if it is the Australian polity that is under analysis, rather than an idealised version of an Australian type of polity that is being used to measure the supposed deficiencies of new states such as Vanuatu. Vanuatu, like many developing and relatively recently independent states, has been subjected to the call for good governance, particularly from wealthier, developed states offering economic aid. When looking at the relevance and the difficulties of using the concept of good governance to explain institutional problems in a Pacific micro-state, questions of cultural bias, and the thorny question of corruption, are sometimes set alongside some idealisations of constitutional practice in developed states such as Australia. I shall discuss some of the meanings of governance, explore some concerns about the governance of Vanuatu, and then look at some of the context of the use of governance with respect to Australia. Some reflections on these matters are offered as a conclusion.