DISCUSSION
PAPER
98/3
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
State Society and
Governance in Melanesia
MELANESIAN ÉLITES AND MODERN
POLITICS IN
N E W C A L E D O N I A A N D VA N U AT U
ERIC
WITTERSHEIM
Much research has been conducted into the
idea of an ontological difference between
processes of ‘invention of tradition’ and
tradition and modernity. These individuals all had
‘construction of national identity’ in Melanesia
a prominent role within the FLNKS, some being
often focusing on the opposition between
elected politicians at a kind of ‘national’ level. All
tradition and modernity. Oppositions like local
played an important role in the customary life (or
versus national, rural versus urban, traditional
the everyday life) of their own village, or tribu.
versus westernised or authenticity versus
They also maintained strong ties with the
inauthenticity have been emphasised; sometimes
Church.
with reason, sometimes not. Even if many
researchers no longer take for granted such
project with the anthropologist Alban Bensa
analytical frameworks, lots of areas remain
aiming to gather and publish Jean-Marie Tjibaou’s
unexplored. The experience of the leaders who
works, interviews and speeches (Tjibaou 1996).
emerged in the 1960s and 1970s in Melanesia is
This work confirmed my feeling that these
one such neglected area. The ‘tradition versus
Melanesian leaders proceeded along very specific
modernity’ discourse usually describes a huge
lifepaths, in which colonisation, Christianity and a
gap between these leaders, seen as westernised
Melanesian experience of the social world were
and alienated from their culture, and the people,
totally melded. Thus, a sociology of these new
1
who are ‘simply living’ this culture. Following
élites might help to understand contemporary
Hobsbawm in particular, many scholars have
Melanesia. I am studying the matter from the
seen the discourses they developed as spurious
experience of Vanuatu and here I formulate some
traditions justifying political manipulations.
general propositions, drawing on my first
This was quite different from my own
The contribution
of AusAID to this
series is
acknowledged
with appreciation.
Soon after I became involved in an editorial
experience. During a trip in the South Pacific in
1991, I met some of the leaders of the Front de
fieldwork in Vanuatu and my experience of New
Caledonia.
There is an abundant literature on ‘invention
Libération Nationale Kanak Socialiste (FLNKS) in
of tradition’ in Melanesia. In it the different
New Caledonia, and everything in their daily life
discourses developed by Melanesian leaders are
and their discourses seemed to contradict this
often seen as the Machiavellian constructions of
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State, Society and Governance in Melanesia
2
westernised élites. This surprised me, although I
The nationalist ideologies in fact have been
cannot tell if my surprise came mostly from my
forged by exalting values common to all
knowledge of the Kanak leaders or from the
Melanesians, rather than according to abstract
respect I had for their struggle. One thing is sure:
designs for emancipation (Marxism, neo-
I could see that neither their relation to their
liberalism, or liberation theology). And, in the
‘tradition,’ their manner of taking up western
early seventies, the members of the Melanesian
models, nor their ties to Christian religions were
élite were not high level public servants,
ever analysed in a non-polemical, impartial way.
businessmen, lawyers or established intellectuals.
It would be more productive to analyse how
This kind of élite would appear later, long after
these three sources act as mediators, both social
the beginning of these political struggles. It
and ideological. The study of the new Melanesian
remains to be demonstrated that one can directly
élites cannot be limited to the assessment of their
apply to them a classic political science
action as political leaders. It is necessary to
framework. Nevertheless, one usually speaks of
devote particular attention to their biographies
the Melanesian élite as a whole, when one evokes
and, when possible, to the syncretistic thinking
the formation of a westernised bourgeoisie in
some of them display.
postcolonial states (Hau’ofa 1987).
In their thoughts and actions, these individuals
Thus, we need a clearer definition of the so-
were marked by the acceleration of history which
called ‘Melanesian élites.’ Usually, political
saw them pass from their villages to the city, from
scientists differentiate ‘élites’ from ‘leaders’
their rural and tribal communities to institutions
(Lasswell 1965, Ysmal 1985). This distinction is
into which the European colonisers had gradually
scarcely made about Melanesia but it is
given them access. Their exposure to western
particularly insightful for developing countries in
institutions made them privileged witnesses to the
general (one would not talk of China or India for
profound changes that shook the Oceanian world
instance, without distinguishing the ancient from
for over half a century. Whatever their personal
the modern élites). Talking of ‘leaders’ and
histories and origins, and whether or not they saw
‘leadership’ would be, in our case, more
their countries achieve independence, throughout
appropriate, because the concept of élite does not
their careers they resorted to ideas, images, and
imply active involvement, but rather a class of
strategies which were clearly comparable from
people who inherit a high and influential status
one end of the Pacific to the other; to such an
and struggle to keep it. Leaders, unlike élites,
extent that today these leaders cannot be
emerge mainly because of personal qualities,
understood solely by looking at the specific people
charisma and competence, where élites draw on
or culture to which they belonged.
a kind of dynastic social capital.
ÉLITES AND LEADERS
The role of the first Melanesian leaders has been
central to the cultural renaissance movements,
and their continuation in the form of political
struggles in the early seventies. But the cultural,
religious and political movements which
emerged were not promoted by organised élites,
rooted in an ancient legitimacy and recognised
by the colonial administrations. These
movements were mostly led by individuals,
How to define these leaders? Can we isolate
some of their particularities? Schooling is, for
instance, a necessary condition to obtain the skills
for a legitimate political leader. In Vanuatu,
education existed in many different forms:
secular and sectarian, and anglophone or
francophone. These institutions often had their
own curricula. Indeed, unlike other fields in
Vanuatu, education was not part of the limited
responsibilities given to the Joint Administration,
but was a ‘national service.’ With the two colonial
often promoted by the colonial power but still
powers having very few precise expectations for
close sociologically to the rest of the population.
the future of Vanuatu and its populations,
Melanesian Élites and Modern Politics in New Caledonia and Vanuatu
education was not seen as a key issue until the
2
institutional, not ideological. And belonging to
late 1950s. This explains the importance of the
the Church is often seen, from a western, liberal
educative policies of the Churches, whose goals
and lay point of view, as something negative. It
and ideas on the future were much more definite.
would be more fruitful to look at the role of
Within the Churches, different agendas were at
religion as a sociological and ideological
stake as well. The relation to temporal power of
mediator, which might have been preeminent in
the Catholic and the Presbyterian Churches, for
shaping Melanesian citizens.
instance, were far from equal. Thus, a
The desire to create a Melanesian clergy, the
comparative study of the systems of education
best guarantee of a perennial presence of
and curricula, in Vanuatu as elsewhere in
Christianity, certainly benefited from the
Melanesia, might help us to grasp the diversity of
expectations raised by a career within the
the new Melanesian leaders, too often described
Church. Mgr Michel Visi, Bishop of Port-Vila and
as homogeneous.
first indigenous Catholic Bishop of Vanuatu,
Some more contextual issues matter also.
remembers that the first indigenous priests in the
When the two administrations started their
Catholic Church were above all seen as successful
education systems, it is said that the French had a
characters, as their economical status was
large egalitarian policy, where the British sought
enviable (interview, Port Vila, 28 August 1997).3
to educate a tiny élite. This idea accords with the
In colonial Melanesia, becoming a priest
received knowledge of education traditions in
might have been the highest, if not the only
these two countries. However, the French had a
possibility of social ascent. But here again, one
larger number of their own citizens to educate,
has to distinguish the different Churches, as it is
and eventually set up an élitist—not to say racist
unlikely that becoming a Catholic priest was seen
—education policy in the Lycée where native
by Melanesians as the same as becoming an
New-Hebrideans were almost non- existent. One
Anglican or a Presbyterian pastor. The celibacy
can on the other hand explain the willingness of
imposed on Catholic priests certainly
the British to train a native élite through a
discouraged some vocations. Furthermore, the
culturalistic framework; but this is undermined
Catholic Church, before the Vatican council, was
by another fact, that there were virtually no
reluctant to interfere in temporal matters. Thus, it
British children to educate in the New Hebrides.
is possible that the difficulties encountered by the
Unlike the French who keep their children with
Catholic Church in forming an indigenous clergy
them and then tend to create separate education
in New Caledonia and Vanuatu were not only
institutions for the indigenous people, the British
caused by the inadequacy of their curriculum or
usually leave their children in boarding schools in
their conservatism, but also by the poor
England.
expectations it raised.4 By contrast, the
Beyond these differences, a certain ambiguity
Presbyterian Church, with the major social role it
appears from the fact that most leaders received
gives to pastors and elders, was more likely to
a strong religious education and some even
push its valuable candidates in that direction.
became pastors or priests. Christianity is often
One might also ask whether local forms of
used as a scale to measure acculturation in
power and hierarchies contributed to shaping
Melanesia. This leads us to underestimate the
these new religious status levels. Becoming a
importance of the indigenisation of Christianity.
religious leader in the northern islands of
Christianity, through a liberal indigenous
Vanuatu, where one inherits what might be
interpretation of its message rather than through
described as a ‘leadership soul’ 5 rather than a
the will of the Churches themselves, has played a
definite status, and becomming one in Southern
major political role. The link of Melanesian
Vanuatu and New Caledonia (where one is born
leaders to religion is mainly interpreted as
a chief or a commoner), might not be the same
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State, Society and Governance in Melanesia
4
thing. The close relations of some Melanesian
from their familial environment. Primary school
families with missionaries certainly played a
was thus a very minor factor of acculturation,
major role in the recruitment of children for
unlike secondary school which often implied
schools and later for clergy. This serves to
living in a remote boarding school with people
reinforce the idea of a Machiavellian élite, using
from different origins.
all sorts of tricks and influence to foster their
Next, most contemporary Melanesian leaders
power. But does this not underestimate the
are still involved in traditional networks and
importance of the Christian message within
obligations. The advantages brought now by
Melanesian societies? Many examples could
their political or economical status reinforce,
illustrate the role played by Christianity in
more than they minimise their position in these
shaping political and liberation ideas
traditional fields. And some leaders even
(cf.Leymang 1969, Lini 1980, Narakobi 1983,
acquired prominent chiefly status as mediators or
Tijabou 1996). Interpreting political involvement
assessors for the colonial administration or the
as a breaking with religion implies that
new independent state (White and Lindstrom
secularisation is a non-religious notion; this is far
1997). In some cases, the Church itself introduced
from obvious if one considers the increasing will
new forms of so-called traditional leadership
of the Churches to play a social role worldwide.
which caused problems for no one except,
Many Melanesians did not resign from their
perhaps, those whose traditional power was
religious responsibilities to enter politics, and
challenged (White 1992). Afterwards, these
those who did, like Tjibaou in New Caledonia,
leaders needed to maintain strong local support
were more seeking autonomy from rigid and
in order to be seen as representative of their
reactionary religious institutions than despising
community. This is especially true in Vanuatu,
the Christian faith itself.
where the Constitution demands that one should
The ties between Melanesian political leaders
first be elected as a parliamentary member
and kastom are not so easy to consider, and it is
before claiming a minister’s role. These leaders
probably why one often tends to underestimate,
need to keep in mind the rules of the local
or even to raise suspicions about them (Babadzan
political ‘game.’
1988). Unlike western education or religion, one
The fast changes of status which led these
cannot use objective criteria to evaluate them.
leaders to accept responsibilities and to lead a
Facing the impossibility of doing fieldwork in
different lifestyle from the majority, are fairly
dozens of different areas, one has to refer largely
recent. Most often, these leaders are exceptions
to their writings and speeches to see how these
within their families. This confirms the
leaders define themselves. First, most of them
inadequacy of the term élite to define them, and
grew up in villages, in a so-called ‘traditional’
the need to study their particular lifepaths. The
environment. Their parents were often poorly or
study of contemporary Melanesian leaders
not educated at all, living primarily in a
necessitates in-depth research on their
subsistence economy. Thus, virtually all
integration in local and traditional customary
Melanesian leaders spoke the language of their
networks, on their role and responsibilities
parents as a native tongue. Moreover, most of
within these networks and beyond, and a
them learned to read and write in this language,
comparative study of the different leadership
sometimes with an indigenous teacher. Language
types in Melanesia today. But the biographical
is not just one indicator among others: it is the
studies raise some particular problems.
main carrier of cultural transmission, and if
One tends to reconstruct, afterwards,
school is obviously a strong factor of cultural and
individual lifepaths as logical and meaningful
social change, one must recognise that most
totalities. The study of Melanesian leaders is
Melanesian children were not completely cut
particularly subject to teleology. Melanesian
Melanesian Élites and Modern Politics in New Caledonia and Vanuatu
leaders themselves reinforce this ‘biographical
turned towards the human sciences and left for
illusion’ as Bourdieu (1986) named it, insisting on
France in 1968.
the calling which they once heard and which led
At the time, discussion of Kanak society was
them to devote themselves to others. The idea of
dominated by anthropology, which focused on
‘vocation’ is brought in here for two reasons: first
‘traditional structures’ and did not address the
in the sense of religious vocation, then as an
effects of colonisation. Tjibaou drew positive
ultimate explanation of their future political
references to Kanak culture from the work of the
involvement. Such extrapolations show how
missionary Maurice Leenhardt. Anthropology,
important it is to rely on several types of sources.
which places a proper value on each society,
Nevertheless I proceed to a more precise
provided him with arguments to use throughout
attempt to show the value of such a study.
his career to respond, in the domain of cultural
Drawing on the case of Jean-Marie Tjibaou, I
dignity, to the supposed superiority of the
suggest a few propositions, knowing however
western world. In the wake of this attention to
that New Caledonia is a very particular example,
the recent evolution of societies, Tjibaou
being the only Melanesian territory to remain
reconsidered the traditional Melanesian heritage
under colonial influence. Thus, if many
from which the church had distanced him.
Melanesian leaders developed original thoughts
Despite this return to his sources and his
about governance and cultural change, Tjibaou
voluntary return to the secular state in 1971, the
had the paradoxical ‘privilege’ of not becoming a
former priest remained strongly attached to his
chief of state, allowing him to remain in people’s
Christian roots. Tjibaou in fact relied on a
minds a thinker as much as a politician.6 Even so,
progressive conception of Christianity to free the
one can find correlations with other Melanesian
Kanaks from the heavy, stilted image of the
examples. Our goal is not to idealise or to justify
‘primitive’ developed in classical anthropology.
Tjibaou or any other leader, but to determine
Beyond criticising a certain ethnology, Jean-
what these individuals can teach us about
Marie Tjibaou intended to give new value to the
contemporary Melanesia (Otto 1997).
Kanak identity today. To help this ‘renaissance’ he
THE ‘MELANESIAN WAY’
ACCORDING TO TJIBAOU
organised Melanesia 2000, a great festival of
Melanesian art in Nouméa in 1975. By means of
this festival, Tjibaou took up the idea which was
blossoming at that moment throughout the
The biography of Jean-Marie Tjibaou is similar to
Oceanian world, that of the ‘Pacific way of life,’ or
those of his major Oceanian contemporaries.
the ‘Melanesian way.’ The evocation of common
Indeed his vision of the Pacific constantly
references paints the portrait of an Oceanic
reminds us of the diverse modern influences
civilization which goes beyond specific
upon the indigenous peoples of Oceania. Born in
characteristics, and embodies a philosophical,
1936 in the Hienghéne valley, on the East coast of
moral, and ecological message. If the ‘Pacific way’
the Grande Terre, Tjibaou—one of the many
ideology allowed certain leaders to promote the
children of a village chief and school teacher—
idea of a pre-colonial Oceania which was
left his small reserve in 1945 to study at Catholic
egalitarian and free of conflicts, it also played a role
schools and seminaries, which distanced him
in the attempted cultural revalorisation,
from his tribe for over twenty years, and lead
indispensable in any liberation struggle. In 1977,
ultimately to the priesthood in 1965. But then
soon after the festival, Tjibaou, who had been a
Tjibaou had the feeling that the evangelical
cultural and social organiser for the territorial
message was far from being put into practice in
government since his resignation from the
any fair way to help the Kanak people. Searching
priesthood, entered politics along with a new
for analytical tools with which to understand the
generation of Kanak leaders including Yeiwene
drastic cultural alienation of the Kanaks, Tjibaou
Yeiwene and Eloi Machoro. Tjibaou was already
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State, Society and Governance in Melanesia
6
40 years old.
Kanak cultural heritage, ethnology, the day-
in front of us (Tjibaou 1996:185).
His untimely death robbed him of the
to-day life in a colonial society, and Christianity
possibility of clarifying his ideas on the political
are strong influences which were deeply melded
system. If the constitutional plan for Kanaky is
in Tjibaou’s formation, and became pillars of his
really that of a democratic State, its reference to
political discourse. His political ideas were mostly
tradition remains ambiguous. Likewise, if he
drawn from his experience as a Kanak in a
believed in the individual, Tjibaou was not
French colony, but raised larger issues about
convinced by the form of individualism taken in
governance and citizenship in Melanesia.
the West. In this he even saw a danger for the
Jean-Marie Tjibaou anticipated the painful
maintenance of both political and clan solidarity
problems appearing at the end of this century
which play an essential role in Kanak social life.
due to the relationship between community
He liked to point to the fact that the principle of
membership (traditional, ethnic, national) and
universal suffrage, of which the West is so proud,
respect for individual rights. It is as if Tjibaou
is also the reason why the Kanaks can never
hesitated between a formula rooted in the Kanak
hope to achieve independence as a result of
identity, which would run the risk of inciting
elections. We must remember that the Kanaks
racism or exclusion, and a more balanced
have become a minority in New Caledonia as a
hypothesis which would advance cultural
result of the deliberate importation of other
specificity without endangering democratic
populations. Since the end of the 1960s,
expression. However, by deepening the syncretic
successive French governments used this
approach, he contrasts this logic with the
demographic reality to justify, through the ballot
reminder of the rule of rights, thus turning
box, maintaining the territory within the
against the coloniser the moral and legal arms
Republic. On the other hand, where its nationals
forged by the French Revolution: the people’s
are in the minority, as in Algeria or Vietnam,
right to self-determination, the rights of citizens,
France was careful not to promote the principle
human rights, and respect for the State’s word.
of ‘one man, one vote.’ Tjibaou always rose
His relationship with France was never entirely
against this variable use of formal democracy.
negative; he sought to recapture a part of the
To the internal problems raised by the
coloniser’s heritage, therefore rejecting the idea
building of a Kanak or Caledonian State, were
of an eternal and immutable ‘Kanakitude.’
added those due to the territorial dispersal of the
Tjibaou took note of a certain number of western
Pacific. None of these micro-states is capable of
civilisation’s contributions; techniques, Christian
providing for all its needs, certainly in the
values, reference to the state. To his mind, no
economic sphere but also in defence, without
fixed conception of culture was acceptable, and
external help. Contemplating a future removed
therefore, any reference to Kanak identity could
from French tutelage, those seeking
only be relative to the history of Oceania over
independence feel more deeply the constraints of
the last two centuries. This resolutely modern
insularity; relative isolation, the necessity for
dimension to his thought lead him to vigorously
integration into the region, the search for new
criticise all traditionalisms
sources of aid. Faced with these requirements,
One always speaks of traditional culture. But
the ‘Pacific way of life’ is unable to take the place
what is traditional? I believe we always have
of an economic program, just as independence
an overly archaeological conception of
raises as many questions as it resolves.
culture (Tjibaou 1996:296).
The centrifugal forces pushing small
He said in 1988, recalling a famous statement
independent states to multiply and reinforce their
made in 1985 in Les Temps Modernes
ties to larger states could not but accentuate the
The return to tradition, it’s a myth. No
economic, social, and political transformations.
people ever experienced it. Our identity lies
Are not these small island societies, always reliant
Melanesian Élites and Modern Politics in New Caledonia and Vanuatu
on the outside world, also those which could be
among the components of the independence
most profoundly upset by the rapid introduction
movement. Neither is it certain that consensus
of new techniques and new values? This dilemma
operates in the internal decision-making
pervaded the entire thinking of Tjibaou.
procedures in the chiefdoms, elders’ councils, or
Between pragmatism and utopianism, he
any of the other political structures that the
imagined a Kanak modernity which would be
Kanaks claim to be strong points of their custom.
neither a forceful return to tradition, nor an
Beneath the surface, behind these practical and
unbridled cult of goods and technology. His
ideological problems, the entire question of the
thought was marked by the search, at times
relationship between Kanak social organisations
pathetic, for an original form of development
(clans, chiefdoms, masters of the soil, etc.) and the
and sociability which recalls the ‘third way’
life of political parties was raised when Jean-Marie
envisaged by Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and at
Tjibaou speculated on preserving Kanak specificity
one time by Walter Lini in Vanuatu. He therefore
at the heart of an independent state.
allowed himself to criticise the most destabilising
aspects of modernity, while at the same time
THE NATION STATE IN MELANESIA
searching to adapt the Kanak reality to
urbanisation, industrialisation, and globalisation.
This effort was quite distinctive, and the Kanak
struggle gained strong international legitimacy
through Tjibaou’s political style. He always
The prospect of a Kanak State stresses the
nationalists’ claim that the principle of a Kanak
people overrides all linguistic, territorial, and social
differences. Yet this diversity remains a living
managed, in his relations with French politicians in
reality and, in the practice of the chiefdoms and
particular, to establish a kind of mutual respect,
clans, resists the unitary model which those
trying to introduce a cultural exchange in any
seeking independence promote. Of course, all
political discussion. By bringing a relational
plans for state control necessarily come up against
conception to the practice of politics, Tjibaou
local powers; each group sees things its own way,
seemed to employ a particularly Melanesian way
and accepts with difficulty the decisions made in
of placing oneself within relationships of power.
the general interest which lead to the emergence
He applied to the diplomacy between states
of a solid public and national framework. These
manners which, among Kanaks, first prevail
tensions become particularly intense during land
between people. This leads one to examine the
disputes. FLNKS-elected officials have often
place of the representation and rules of politics
encountered great difficulty in convincing clan
common to the Kanaks—in so far as they express
authorities to transfer land for the construction of
cultural specificity—in the contemporary history
hospitals, ports, or schools. The private logic of
of the independence movement. Is there a
traditional social units resents injunctions handed
uniquely Kanak way, or Melanesian way, of
down by those responsible for a growing policy
practicing politics today? Concerning Tjibaou’s
of State control.
political style, one can argue that this was mostly
The government of Vanuatu also confronts
a personal attitude, hardly transposable in
problems of adjusting to different jurisdictions. It
general terms. He was never loquacious on the
brings into play, more fundamentally, possibly
subject. Like all Kanaks, he was content to
irreconcilable conceptions of personal rights and
advance the rule of consensus which aims to
communal rights. It is citizenship within the post-
achieve perfect agreement among all participants
colonial Oceanian states which is the source of the
in a debate, without voting or delegating speech.
principal arguments over legitimacy: in the end,
This notion of consensus, of which the roots
should control over the land, but also over
and contexts of application should be retraced,
goods, and even perhaps over persons, remain in
does not seem to have always worked perfectly if
the hands of local authorities who fiercely defend
one judges from the diversity of speech and action
their autonomy, or should it pass to state
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State, Society and Governance in Melanesia
8
institutions which favour the national perspective
vocabulary are confusing. However they do not
over regional particularities? In fact, Kanaks and
rule out the hope of creating intermediary forms
ni-Vanuatu define individual rights based on their
of power, of policing agents relevant to these
statutory position within the kinship system and
countries. The universal model of the state is
within the political organisation; whereas a state
above all western, and, as in many other
necessarily bases its room for manoeuvre on the
domains, Melanesians must live with the fact that
enfranchisement of people and respect for
this so-called universality is unable to include any
individual property. However, it would be an
of their values. Tjibaou once said
exaggeration to think that no resolution exists
The colonial system has rendered the Kanaks
between these systems. In practice, Melanesians
anonymous. If today I can share what I
play on the confusion of possibilities offered in
possess of French culture with a non-Kanak
situations for which the rules of behaviour are
from my country, it is impossible for him to
never defined beforehand (Foster 1995, Van
share with me that universal part inherent in
Trease 1995).
my culture (Tjibaou 1996:159).
This illustrates how the problems faced by
In the case of Vanuatu, the possibilities of an
Melanesian states today are not as much the
institution like the Malvatumauri, the National
result of an inability to adapt themselves to
Council of Chiefs, are greatly undermined. If the
western democracy, as of internal and logical
chiefs might not be of great help as experts for
difficulties within these new states. This is well
the government on technical problems, it
demonstrated by the problems encountered by
remains true that in most places people respect
the Ombudsman, in Vanuatu, when trying to
them more than anything coming from the
establish legal barriers to the abuse of power.
government. As Vincent Boulekone, former
One should not accuse Melanesian politicians of
lawyer for indigenous affairs and long-time
being unable to be good politicians. Rather, they
Member of Parliament in Vanuatu pointed out
just keep using all the possibilities they are
If we enact a law concerned with the
offered. Can we seriously assert that Melanesian
environment, to outlaw fishing in a
politicians do not understand what the state,
particular area, or collecting a particular kind
citizenship and commonwealth mean? A strong
of seashell, well, it is not respected. People
state is perhaps not only established through the
from the Islands do not really care about that
spread of citizenship and civic sense. It might also
law. I think it is the same in France,
be a matter of force and respect. The eventual
everywhere, when one outlaws to shoot
nomination of an Ombudsman in Vanuatu in 1994
pigeons, ducks or hares! You need a
must not be seen as the consequence of a previous
gamekeeper, and he must do his job
failure of the state, but as an imperative decision
properly. But on the other hand, here in
which should have been taken, according to the
Vanuatu, if the ban is imposed by a chief, it is
Constitution, in the first year of independence.
order, the custom, and nobody will question
Even in France, in a ‘strong’ state, a large and rapid
this authority (Interview, Port Vila, 29
decentralisation policy in the 1980s permitted
August 1997).
hundreds of national politicians, suddenly freed of
The riots that occured in Port-Vila in January
any kind of control, to reach unprecedent records
1998 following the release of the Ombudsman’s
of corruption.
report on the misuse of the Vanuatu National
Nevertheless, one should not give up the
Provident Fund, could not be stopped by the
attempt to imagine locally adapted forms of
Vanuatu Mobile Force without the help of the
governance. The problems faced by Melanesian
chiefs, as acknowledged by the Commissioner of
states are too often and too rapidly interpreted
Police himself
through a culturalist framework: analogies and
Developments in recent days have proved
metaphors drawing on anthropological
that the traditional way of maintaining our
Melanesian Élites and Modern Politics in New Caledonia and Vanuatu
society and people is still very much alive
struggles, amongst the principal vectors of the
(Bong 1998).
liberalisation of society. And the more there is
All the same, the role and place of the
such a thing as an ‘élite,’ outside the political
Churches needs to be clarified; relations between
arena, the more pressure there will be to foster
Church and State in Melanesia may have to be
democracy and citisenship. It might be mostly
different to those of western countries. A constant
driven by liberal ideas, and be seen as attempts
economic and political pressure in which external
to protect and increase unshared privileges. But
powers play an important role greatly restrains
this is only logical. One knows too that the
Melanesian politicians from trying to imagine new
French revolution was a bourgeois revolution,
and more adapted forms of governance.
and that the first meaning of the word ‘liberty’ is
On the other hand, radical constitutional
changes seldom happen elsewhere. The need for
these changes, and perhaps the answers, are
likely to be raised by non-politicians, that is by
people who do not actually live from politics. The
emergence of a so-called élite might therefore be
a condition for such changes. One must pay
particular attention to the question of citizenship,
and broadly to the evolution of individual status
in Melanesian countries. State-building cannot be
reduced to a formal and evolutionary process.
First of all, in a former colony, it implies that
people evolve from the status of natives to that
of citizens. The nationalist rhetoric has to
magnify the general rejection of colonisation in
order to enable the firm assertion of identity,
symbolised by belonging to the new nation.
Cultural renaissance movements thus tried to kill
two birds with one stone: to create
homogeneous entities able to stand in front of
the colonial powers, and to develop a heightened
awareness amongst individuals. The so-called
‘natives’ were to ‘imagine’ themselves, more
than ‘invent’ themselves as members of a single
community which will eventually become a
nation.
Nation-building relies strongly on individual
awareness, and this awareness is largely fostered
and spread by the leaders. The assertion,
defended by a certain kind of ethnology, that the
notion of individual is absent in traditional
societies and particularly in Melanesia, is thus
refuted by the analysis made by some of these
leaders of the effects of the colonial trauma on
individuals.
I suggest that the emergent élites have been
in fact, since the beginning of independence
actually free enterprise.
9
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State, Society and Governance in Melanesia
10
elaborated in common with
Invention of Tradition,
Alban Bensa. They are
Cambridge University
The best advocate of this
developed more extensively in
Press:1–14.
somewhat marxist point of
Bensa and Wittersheim 1998.
NOTES
1
view was the late Roger
Keesing. The tradition vs
modernity discourse is largely
commented on and criticised in
Jolly (1992).
2
The Bay report in 1957 can be
seen as the starting point of the
British educational policy,
which was soon to be followed
by the French.
3
In Vanuatu, the last Chief
Minister before independence
in 1980, Gérard Leymang, was
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