Migration, Education and Marginality: Networks and Strategies in the Pacific Islands

Abstract

The Pacific Islands region covers a vast area of the globe yet it is often regarded as being marginalized in the global economy due to the small size, relative isolation and apparently limited resources of Pacific economies. This chapter examines processes of ‘de-marginalization’ that are being pursued by Pacific Island states and kinship networks. These relate to connections that are forged and strengthened with metropolitan economies that allow Pacific people to move, gain education and work elsewhere. In this we see the critical role of diasporic kinship networks operating often separate from and around the margins of state systems.