Jonathan Barbara
Biographic Data
| ID | 222952 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jonathan Barbara |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jonathan |
| FAMILY NAME | Barbara |
| SIGNATURE | BARBARA J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Australian National University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9276-4598 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 37 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 17 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Popular attitudes to international relations in Samoa
Popular Political Attitudes in Vanuatu
This paper presents the findings of the second Pacific Attitudes Survey (PAS), conducted in Vanuatu from August–October 2023. Drawing on a nationally representative sample ( n = 1330) of ni‐Vanuatu of voting‐age (18+), the PAS gauges the views of ordinary ni‐Vanuatu citizens on a range of questions related to democracy, economics, governance, tradition, climate change, labour mobility and international relations. This article focuses on how ni‐Va…
Tradition Meets Democracy
Women are globally underrepresented as political leaders; as of January 2023, only 17 countries had a woman head of government. Included in this small group is Samoa, which elected Fiame Naomi Mata’afa as its first woman prime minister in 2021 after a fiercely contested election and subsequent protracted legal disputes centered around interpretations of Samoa’s 10% gender quota. Drawing on data from the Pacific Attitudes Survey, the first large-s…
Climate Change and Democracy
Democracy is on trial in the climate crisis. It is charged with having failed to prevent dangerous climate change. To its critics, the very same features of democracy praised as its defining virtues—popular sovereignty, the accountability and responsiveness of elected officials, public debate and deliberation—are handicaps that impede effective climate action. However, this trial is not over and it would not be safe to deliver a verdict at this s…
Re-Live History
The use of immersive virtual reality for learning is a growing opportunity that has so far suffered from limited application in the classroom, particularly with students in the 11 to 12 year bracket. Due to more concern being shown toward usability rather educational goals, mixed feelings exist about the technology’s ability to teach. Meanwhile, historical games usually have fun as the main or sole objective, which may cause problems by diminishi…
Popular political attitudes in Samoa
Popular political attitudes surveys have been conducted globally for several decades, but the Pacific region remains an exception. This paper presents the findings of the first Pacific Attitudes Survey (PAS), conducted in Samoa from December 2020‐January 2021. Drawing on a nationally representative sample of Samoans of voting‐age (n = 1319) the PAS gauges the attitudes of ordinary Samoans to their democracy, levels of popular trust in institution…
The domestic politics of climate change in the Pacific Islands
Much scholarly attention has been paid to the issue of climate change in the Pacific Islands, in terms of its geopolitical implications, and through the lens of mitigation and adaptation policies and strategies. Comparatively little focus has been given to the domestic politics of climate change in the region: How a changing climate is affecting internal political dynamics. This article traces the boundaries of a new research agenda on the impact…
Addressing collective action problems in Melanesia
This article presents case study findings on the Vanuatu-based Northern Islands Market Vendors' Association (NIMVA) as a vehicle for women-led collective action. While NIMVA’s existence and organisational strength challenges existing political norms, strong gender norms restricting the role of women in society and politics continue to marginalise its capacity to participate politically and pursue transformative change. Using a “permitted empowerm…
Revisiting the Concept of Political Participation in the Pacific
Understanding how citizens participate in politics is important because it shapes political culture and the tenor of democracy. The standard research framing of Pacific politics, centring around institutions both formal and informal, fails to fully account for the myriad of ways in which non-elite Pacific Islanders experience and relate to politics in their daily lives. This scholarly approach results in limited engagement with informal sites of …
Realising the Potential of Universities as Significant Development Actors in Post-conflict Societies
Interest in the transformational potential of education has seen development partners prioritise support for basic education. Tertiary education has tended to be considered in narrow and instrumental terms focused on supporting economic growth through vocational education and training. Development partners have largely overlooked the much broader potential of the sector to engage with a wide range of development challenges. This article focuses o…
Measuring User Experience in Multiplayer Board Games
Comparison of user experience between multiplayer digital games and board games is largely unexplored in the literature, with no instrument found to suitably measure user experience across game formats. This study explores the use of the Social Presence module of the Games Experience Questionnaire to measure user experience in a multiplayer board game involving 12 participants across 3 separate sessions. Scale analysis and correlation with semist…
Post-Statebuilding and the Australian Experience in Timor-Leste and Solomon Islands
Peer-reviewed
From Intervention to Partnership—Prospects for Development Partnership in S olomon I slands after the Ramsi
This article considers prospects for effective development partnership in Solomon Islands following the transition of development assistance from the R egional A ssistance M ission to S olomon I slands ( RAMSI ) to bilateral donors in 2013. It focuses on the shifting nature of Australian aid that has transitioned from an interventionary approach under RAMSI to a partnership‐based approach under the bilateral program. Prospects for partnership in …
Antipodean Statebuilding
This essay analyses Australian-led statebuilding efforts in Solomon Islands, through the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). RAMSI has often been offered as a successful example of statebuilding worthy of international consideration. Here, some of the limitations of the RAMSI mission and its progress in rebuilding the ‘failed’ South Pacific state will be carefully assessed. Despite significant short-term statebuilding successe…
Rethinking neo-liberal state building
In attempting to rebuild post-conflict failed states, the international community has drawn heavily on neo-liberal development paradigms. However, neo-liberal state building has proved ineffectual in stimulating economic development in post-conflict states, thus undermining prospects for state consolidation. This article offers the developmental state as an alternative model for international state building, better suited to overcoming the develo…
Speed, International Security, and "New War" Coverage in Cyberspace
n\t\t\t\t\tMass media representations foster a view that the "War on Terror" is taking place both everywhere and nowhere, presenting Western governments with an opportunity to mobilize public support in new and ubiquitous ways. Starting with Virilio's critique of technology, speed, and de-territorialization, this article discusses the ways in which mass support is mobilized by the state in conventional pursuit of geopolitical objectives. Drawing …
Nation building and the role of the private sector as a political peace-builder
The international development community (national governments, international development bodies such as the World Bank and UN, and civil society organisations such as Oxfam) has acknowledged for so
Speed, International Security, and "New War" Coverage in Cyberspace
n\t\t\t\t\tMass media representations foster a view that the "War on Terror" is taking place both everywhere and nowhere, presenting Western governments with an opportunity to mobilize public support in new and ubiquitous ways. Starting with Virilio's critique of technology, speed, and de-territorialization, this article discusses the ways in which mass support is mobilized by the state in conventional pursuit of geopolitical objectives. Drawing …
Rethinking neo-liberal state building
In attempting to rebuild post-conflict failed states, the international community has drawn heavily on neo-liberal development paradigms. However, neo-liberal state building has proved ineffectual in stimulating economic development in post-conflict states, thus undermining prospects for state consolidation. This article offers the developmental state as an alternative model for international state building, better suited to overcoming the develo…
Nation building and the role of the private sector as a political peace-builder
The international development community (national governments, international development bodies such as the World Bank and UN, and civil society organisations such as Oxfam) has acknowledged for so
From Intervention to Partnership—Prospects for Development Partnership in S olomon I slands after the Ramsi
This article considers prospects for effective development partnership in Solomon Islands following the transition of development assistance from the R egional A ssistance M ission to S olomon I slands ( RAMSI ) to bilateral donors in 2013. It focuses on the shifting nature of Australian aid that has transitioned from an interventionary approach under RAMSI to a partnership‐based approach under the bilateral program. Prospects for partnership in …
Antipodean Statebuilding
This essay analyses Australian-led statebuilding efforts in Solomon Islands, through the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). RAMSI has often been offered as a successful example of statebuilding worthy of international consideration. Here, some of the limitations of the RAMSI mission and its progress in rebuilding the ‘failed’ South Pacific state will be carefully assessed. Despite significant short-term statebuilding successe…
Tradition Meets Democracy
Women are globally underrepresented as political leaders; as of January 2023, only 17 countries had a woman head of government. Included in this small group is Samoa, which elected Fiame Naomi Mata’afa as its first woman prime minister in 2021 after a fiercely contested election and subsequent protracted legal disputes centered around interpretations of Samoa’s 10% gender quota. Drawing on data from the Pacific Attitudes Survey, the first large-s…
Popular political attitudes in Samoa
Popular political attitudes surveys have been conducted globally for several decades, but the Pacific region remains an exception. This paper presents the findings of the first Pacific Attitudes Survey (PAS), conducted in Samoa from December 2020‐January 2021. Drawing on a nationally representative sample of Samoans of voting‐age (n = 1319) the PAS gauges the attitudes of ordinary Samoans to their democracy, levels of popular trust in institution…
Revisiting the Concept of Political Participation in the Pacific
Understanding how citizens participate in politics is important because it shapes political culture and the tenor of democracy. The standard research framing of Pacific politics, centring around institutions both formal and informal, fails to fully account for the myriad of ways in which non-elite Pacific Islanders experience and relate to politics in their daily lives. This scholarly approach results in limited engagement with informal sites of …
Measuring User Experience in Multiplayer Board Games
Comparison of user experience between multiplayer digital games and board games is largely unexplored in the literature, with no instrument found to suitably measure user experience across game formats. This study explores the use of the Social Presence module of the Games Experience Questionnaire to measure user experience in a multiplayer board game involving 12 participants across 3 separate sessions. Scale analysis and correlation with semist…
Speed, International Security, and "New War" Coverage in Cyberspace
n\t\t\t\t\tMass media representations foster a view that the "War on Terror" is taking place both everywhere and nowhere, presenting Western governments with an opportunity to mobilize public support in new and ubiquitous ways. Starting with Virilio's critique of technology, speed, and de-territorialization, this article discusses the ways in which mass support is mobilized by the state in conventional pursuit of geopolitical objectives. Drawing …
Nation building and the role of the private sector as a political peace-builder
The international development community (national governments, international development bodies such as the World Bank and UN, and civil society organisations such as Oxfam) has acknowledged for so
Antipodean Statebuilding
This essay analyses Australian-led statebuilding efforts in Solomon Islands, through the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). RAMSI has often been offered as a successful example of statebuilding worthy of international consideration. Here, some of the limitations of the RAMSI mission and its progress in rebuilding the ‘failed’ South Pacific state will be carefully assessed. Despite significant short-term statebuilding successe…
Rethinking neo-liberal state building
In attempting to rebuild post-conflict failed states, the international community has drawn heavily on neo-liberal development paradigms. However, neo-liberal state building has proved ineffectual in stimulating economic development in post-conflict states, thus undermining prospects for state consolidation. This article offers the developmental state as an alternative model for international state building, better suited to overcoming the develo…
From Intervention to Partnership—Prospects for Development Partnership in S olomon I slands after the Ramsi
This article considers prospects for effective development partnership in Solomon Islands following the transition of development assistance from the R egional A ssistance M ission to S olomon I slands ( RAMSI ) to bilateral donors in 2013. It focuses on the shifting nature of Australian aid that has transitioned from an interventionary approach under RAMSI to a partnership‐based approach under the bilateral program. Prospects for partnership in …
Post-Statebuilding and the Australian Experience in Timor-Leste and Solomon Islands
Peer-reviewed
Realising the Potential of Universities as Significant Development Actors in Post-conflict Societies
Interest in the transformational potential of education has seen development partners prioritise support for basic education. Tertiary education has tended to be considered in narrow and instrumental terms focused on supporting economic growth through vocational education and training. Development partners have largely overlooked the much broader potential of the sector to engage with a wide range of development challenges. This article focuses o…
Measuring User Experience in Multiplayer Board Games
Comparison of user experience between multiplayer digital games and board games is largely unexplored in the literature, with no instrument found to suitably measure user experience across game formats. This study explores the use of the Social Presence module of the Games Experience Questionnaire to measure user experience in a multiplayer board game involving 12 participants across 3 separate sessions. Scale analysis and correlation with semist…
Addressing collective action problems in Melanesia
This article presents case study findings on the Vanuatu-based Northern Islands Market Vendors' Association (NIMVA) as a vehicle for women-led collective action. While NIMVA’s existence and organisational strength challenges existing political norms, strong gender norms restricting the role of women in society and politics continue to marginalise its capacity to participate politically and pursue transformative change. Using a “permitted empowerm…
Revisiting the Concept of Political Participation in the Pacific
Understanding how citizens participate in politics is important because it shapes political culture and the tenor of democracy. The standard research framing of Pacific politics, centring around institutions both formal and informal, fails to fully account for the myriad of ways in which non-elite Pacific Islanders experience and relate to politics in their daily lives. This scholarly approach results in limited engagement with informal sites of …
The domestic politics of climate change in the Pacific Islands
Much scholarly attention has been paid to the issue of climate change in the Pacific Islands, in terms of its geopolitical implications, and through the lens of mitigation and adaptation policies and strategies. Comparatively little focus has been given to the domestic politics of climate change in the region: How a changing climate is affecting internal political dynamics. This article traces the boundaries of a new research agenda on the impact…
Re-Live History
The use of immersive virtual reality for learning is a growing opportunity that has so far suffered from limited application in the classroom, particularly with students in the 11 to 12 year bracket. Due to more concern being shown toward usability rather educational goals, mixed feelings exist about the technology’s ability to teach. Meanwhile, historical games usually have fun as the main or sole objective, which may cause problems by diminishi…
Popular political attitudes in Samoa
Popular political attitudes surveys have been conducted globally for several decades, but the Pacific region remains an exception. This paper presents the findings of the first Pacific Attitudes Survey (PAS), conducted in Samoa from December 2020‐January 2021. Drawing on a nationally representative sample of Samoans of voting‐age (n = 1319) the PAS gauges the attitudes of ordinary Samoans to their democracy, levels of popular trust in institution…
Climate Change and Democracy
Democracy is on trial in the climate crisis. It is charged with having failed to prevent dangerous climate change. To its critics, the very same features of democracy praised as its defining virtues—popular sovereignty, the accountability and responsiveness of elected officials, public debate and deliberation—are handicaps that impede effective climate action. However, this trial is not over and it would not be safe to deliver a verdict at this s…
Tradition Meets Democracy
Women are globally underrepresented as political leaders; as of January 2023, only 17 countries had a woman head of government. Included in this small group is Samoa, which elected Fiame Naomi Mata’afa as its first woman prime minister in 2021 after a fiercely contested election and subsequent protracted legal disputes centered around interpretations of Samoa’s 10% gender quota. Drawing on data from the Pacific Attitudes Survey, the first large-s…
Popular attitudes to international relations in Samoa
Popular Political Attitudes in Vanuatu
This paper presents the findings of the second Pacific Attitudes Survey (PAS), conducted in Vanuatu from August–October 2023. Drawing on a nationally representative sample ( n = 1330) of ni‐Vanuatu of voting‐age (18+), the PAS gauges the views of ordinary ni‐Vanuatu citizens on a range of questions related to democracy, economics, governance, tradition, climate change, labour mobility and international relations. This article focuses on how ni‐Va…
Political science (14 works) · Law (13 works) · Politics (13 works) · Sociology (13 works) · Island Studies and Pacific Affairs (10 works) · Political economy (10 works) · Law (8 works) · Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration (7 works) · Economics (5 works) · Geography (5 works)