Towards a Left Secretariat for the Pacific

Abstract

The Pacific Islands region occupies a vast ocean continent, consisting of a diversity of cultures. What draws the islands together is a shared experience of economic dependency and vulnerability driven by global warming, geopolitical competition, and class divisions. Together, these factors account for poor performance on a range of development indicators, including policy and inequality. It is in this context that Epeli Hau‘ofa has argued that the hoped-for era of autonomy following political independence has not materialised in the Pacific. In response, this paper explores the possibilities and potential aims of a Left secretariat in the Pacific. It aims to rethink political and economic autonomy in the Pacific by bringing together Left theory and practice with the history of Indigenous and class struggles.