Book Review : Pacific ways : Government and politics in the Pacific Islands (2nd ed.)

Abstract

The 2016 edition of Pacific ways follows up on the success of the original 2009 book by the same title. It provides an introduction to the political structures and institutions of 27 territories and states of the Pacific island region. Its range includes the major metropolitan countries of Australia and New Zealand as well as the contested provinces of Indonesia that are commonly referred to as West Papua. The collection also includes material on Timor- Leste, one of the world’s youngest countries (a new addition, along with West Papua). Its main focus, however, is the island Pacific which includes some of the world’s smallest countries, whether in terms of landmass or population size. The coverage that the collection provides is sufficiently wide to allow the reader to gain a sense of the diversity of the region, even without a detailed consideration of culture, language and ethnicity.