The Solomon Islands-RAMSI, Transition and Future Prospects

The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) was deployed to the Solomon Islands almost ten years ago following a short but debilitating internal conflict. Developments on the ground and in RAMSI's understanding of the small Pacific island nation have led to significant changes in the mission's orientation and manner of engagement. Appreciation of the deeper structural challenges facing the Solomon Islands, most of which predated the conflict, indicates that substantial international support will be needed for many years to come. The external security lens through which the Solomon Islands was primarily viewed at the outset of the mission is being progressively replaced by a more context-specific development perspective.