Bigmen justice: Governance arbitrage in Solomon Islands justice delivery

• Main Author: Lamontagne, Rob
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Pazifische Studien e.V. 2019-02-01
• Series: Pacific Geographies
• Subjects: Melanesia; governance; hybridity; governance arbitrage
• Online Access: http://pacific-geographies.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/PG51_Lamontagne.pdf

Solomon Islands remains underdeveloped despite decades of development assistance. I argue this is due, in part, to the failure to account for the country’s hybrid governance in which governance codes of Western liberalism, capitalism, Christianity and Melanesian custom interact. There is a need for contributions that discuss and explain the practical impacts of hybrid governance on those who live in the region. To help fill that gap, I review and analyse the relevant secondary literature, introducing a new concept, ‘governance arbitrage’, to explain how actors navigate a hybrid governance environment. I show governance arbitrage is widespread within the justice system, and is a tool used by elites and non-elites alike. I conclude by suggesting possible new avenues for research