Peace Research in Pacific Islands: Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practice

Abstract

Conflict is one of the major obstacles to the achievement of both the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and national development goals in any war-torn country. As conflicts are increasingly recurring in the Pacific region, many are seeking answers to deal with the underlying causes. Turning to peace research is one alternative to address problems that gave rise to conflict. However, this paper argues that a peace research that ignores indigenous knowledge and practices is likely to be resisted. Therefore, a practice-based inquiry as opposed to disciplinary and interpretive inquiry can fill existing or potential paradigmatic gaps in peace research. A practice-based peace research in the context of this paper refers to peace research that harnesses the indigenous concept of peace as portrayed in the example of nowe – the Temotu Nendo concept of peace. Theorizing peace as nowe signifies the worldview of Pacific Island people. As such, peacebuilding initiatives that are not culturally grounded would not contribute to sustainable peace. The aim of this paper is to inform readers about the practical issues relating to peace research in Pacific Islands' context.