Conflict resolution and political change in tonga

Abstract

The Kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific, population ca. 100,000, has never been engaged in external conflict, nor in civil war since the 1850s. This essay is therefore a study in avoidance of conflict during a period of political change during which a hereditary oligarchy voluntarily conceded executive and legislative powers to an elected parliament. The constitution adopted in 1875 reposed executive and legislative power in a council elected on a limited franchise to collaborate with the head of state. With amendments, the constitution remains in force. A popular reform movement arose in the 1980s but achieved virtually nothing in the face of regal and aristocratic intransigence until co-opted by a new king in 2006. A destructive riot in that year postdated the announcement of reforms but was followed by no further unrest. The peaceful transition to a more democratic form of government may be attributed first to the close alignment of cultural traditions with political structure and behavior and second to the role of powerful individuals in the hierarchy who recognized and embraced the need for change. Democracy as such was not a factor in either maintaining peace or achieving reform.