Society and community

Abstract

In the academic literature, island societies are frequently presented as friendly and easy-going environments in which citizens live together in harmony. According to Dag Anckar (2002, p. 386) “remote and small units are likely to promote feelings of fellowship and a sense of community. When people live at a distance from the outside world, they share a feeling that they are, so to speak, alone in the world.” Similar notions are expressed by scholars who aim to find explanations for the well-established statistical relationship between islandness and democracy (Anckar 2008, Clague et al. 2001, Congdon Fors 2014, Hadenius 1992, Srebrnik 2004). Yet, the evidence forthcoming from small islands around the globe suggests that island societies are often characterised by longstanding rivalries, profound antagonism, and deep-seated conflicts among their populations (Austin 2000, Baldacchino 2012, Richards 1982). These conflicts seldom give rise to armed conflict or violence; indeed, most small island units maintain formally democratic political institutions. All in all, it would be fair to state that, in practice, island societies are not always as friendly as the literature may suggest, especially for those members of society who do not conform to dominant norms and practices (Baldacchino 2012). In their case, the pressures to leave and settle elsewhere would be immense.