Unitary State, Devolution, Autonomy, Secession: State Building and Nation Building in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea

Yash Ghai, Anthony Regan

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

    Abstract

    This paper compares the experience of two main attempts to accommodate secessionist pressures in Bougainville, a sub-national island unit of Papua New Guinea (PNG). In 1976 constitutionally based devolution was established on a largely uniform basis for Bougainville and PNG's 18 other provinces. A 2001 agreement to end a secessionist war has resulted in constitutionally guaranteed asymmetrical autonomy and a right to a deferred referendum on independence for Bougainville. The paper considers whether the Bougainville experience supports the view that autonomy creates pressure for secession and whether secessionist pressures might be accommodated by development of innovative economic policy and governance practices of the kind utilized by many other small non-sovereign island autonomies.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)589-608
    JournalThe Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs
    Volume95
    Issue number386
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2006

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