Causes and course of the Bougainville conflict

Bibliographic Data

ID9075129
AuthorsAnthony J Regan, Anthony Regan (0000-0001-9902-5475, Australian National University, corresponding author)
Year1998
Volume33
Issue3
Pages269-285
Publication date1998-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Pacific History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-3344 • E-ISSN: 1469-9605
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00223349808572878
OpenAlexW1988074258
LanguageEN
Citations received33
References cited9

In its very early stages, the Bougainville conflict was analysed by academic observers in terms of three main perspectives: ethno‐nationalist demands precipitated by grievances about the Panguna copper and gold mine; cultural perspectives which emphasise the impact of a large mining project on either Melanesian communities generally or particular Bougainvillean communities; and class conflict and other forms of economic inequality. To assess the extent to which these perspectives illuminate the dynamics of almost 10 years of conflict, they are re‐considered in the light of both other published material about Bougainville and an overview of the main stages of development of the conflict. While each perspective illuminates aspects of the conflict, none of them stands alone as an explanation. Rather each tends to reinforce the significance of the others. Stresses in Bougainvillean societies caused by interaction of evoloving cultures with growing economic inequality within and between societies are central, with local grievances about the mine and ethno‐nationalism crucial to the way those stresses manifested themselves

Class conflict · Cultural conflict · Inequality · Nationalism · Perspective (graphical) · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration · Island Studies and Pacific Affairs · Law · Mining and Resource Management

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