Governance and Livelihood Realities in Solomon Islands

Abstract

The three institutions of Solomon Islands life are traditional governance (custom), the Church and the State. In the past century, the first two have been strong, the third weak (Brown 2003). Despite this, the condition of traditional governance and the Church are sometimes not noticed by the outside world, which concentrates instead on the State. Modern governance systems have displaced traditional governance. Modern governance is perceived by people to be alienating and disempowering (Wairiu et al. 2003). It is characterised as alienating people from their family or tribe, land and culture. Participation in decision-making and reciprocity are inherent characteristics of