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| The Contemporary Pacific | |
|---|---|
| Title | The Contemporary Pacific |
| Discipline | Pacific studies |
| Publisher | University of Hawai'i Press |
| Country | United States |
| Frequency | Semiannual |
| History | 1989–present |
The Contemporary Pacific is a peer-reviewed academic journal and interdisciplinary forum focusing on the societies, cultures, histories, environments, and political economies of the Pacific Islands region. Published by the University of Hawaiʻi Press and associated with the Center for Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, the journal brings together scholarship, commentaries, reviews, and creative work related to Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and trans-Pacific connections. Contributors have included scholars from institutions such as the Australian National University, University of Auckland, University of the South Pacific, Victoria University of Wellington, and research centers like the East-West Center.
The journal publishes articles on topics spanning indigenous governance in Fiji, land tenure in Vanuatu, cultural revitalization in Hawaiʻi, linguistic preservation in Kiribati, and climate displacement in Tuvalu, featuring contributors who are faculty at Stanford University, Yale University, Cambridge University, Oxford University, University of California, Berkeley, and scholars linked to the Smithsonian Institution, Bishop Museum, Australian Museum, and Fram Museum. Regular sections include research articles, commentaries, book reviews, and creative texts that engage with archives such as the British Museum, National Archives of Australia, Archives New Zealand, National Archives and Records Administration, and collections at Harvard University. Editorial boards have included members affiliated with the New Zealand Research Council, Australian Research Council, Social Science Research Council, and the MacArthur Foundation fellowship networks.
Articles examine the geography of island groups like the Mariana Islands, Aleutian Islands, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa, and environmental issues affecting Coral Sea reefs, Kermadec Islands volcanic arcs, and Great Barrier Reef connectivity. Research addresses sea-level rise impacts on Kiribati, coastal erosion at Funafuti, biodiversity in Bougainville, subsistence fisheries around Palau, and watershed dynamics on New Caledonia. Contributors draw on fieldwork in locales such as Rarotonga, Nauru, Pohnpei, Truk Lagoon, and Easter Island, and engage with agencies like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, United Nations Environment Programme, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, and Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme.
The journal publishes historical scholarship on colonial encounters involving the British Empire, French Third Republic, German Empire, Spanish Empire, and United States in the Pacific, including studies of the Treaty of Waitangi, Anglo–Japanese Alliance implications, missionary activity by London Missionary Society, Methodist Church in Fiji and Rotuma, and early indigenous movements like the Mau movement in Samoa. It covers decolonization processes in New Caledonia and independence in Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Federated States of Micronesia, and Marshall Islands, and postcolonial debates engaging theorists connected to Edward Said, Frantz Fanon, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, and institutions like the School of Oriental and African Studies.
Political analyses treat statecraft in Fiji, electoral politics in Solomon Islands, constitutional reform in Cook Islands, autonomy arrangements in French Polynesia, and compact negotiations like the Compact of Free Association among Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands. The journal explores regional diplomacy through the Pacific Islands Forum, leadership trajectories involving figures like Frank Bainimarama and Sialeʻataongo Tuʻivakanō, and policy frameworks shaped by actors such as the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and United Nations Development Programme.
Economic research addresses resource extraction in Bougainville Copper Limited contexts, tuna fisheries regulated by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, tourism economies in Tahiti, Bora Bora, and Fiji, remittance flows to Samoa and Tonga, and development projects funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency, Asian Development Bank, European Union, and bilateral partners like Australia and New Zealand. Studies examine cash cropping histories with commodities such as copra, phosphate mining on Nauru, logging in Papua New Guinea, and contemporary initiatives in renewable energy on Seymour Canal and island microgrids.
Cultural scholarship in the journal addresses performative arts like haka, siva, and meʻetuʻupaki, oral traditions of the Austronesian peoples, language revitalization for Hawaiian language and Māori language speakers, and material culture studies involving tapa cloth, hei tiki, and wood carving traditions from Easter Island and Rapa Nui. Contributions discuss social movements tied to figures such as Eddie Mabo, heritage management at Lopé National Park-style sites, connections with diasporas in Aotearoa New Zealand, Los Angeles, and Sydney, and intersections with institutions like the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, and National Museum of Australia.
The journal engages with strategic issues including militarization at Guam, historical campaigns such as the Battle of Guadalcanal, nuclear testing legacies at Bikini Atoll and Enewetak Atoll, and contemporary geostrategic competition involving United States Department of Defense, People's Republic of China, Japan Self-Defense Forces, and Australia Defence Force. Analyses consider maritime law under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, border disputes involving Tokelau and Niue, and regional security dialogues mediated by the Pacific Islands Forum and Quadrilateral Security Dialogue-adjacent policymaking.
Category:Pacific studies journals Category:University of Hawaiʻi publications