Introduction

This book was written by two authors that pioneered in research and academia in Papua New Guinea in its early advancement after independence. Michael A. Rynkiewich- a recently retired Professor of Anthropology at the E. Stanley Jones School of Mission and Evangelism and as Director of Postgraduate Studies, is seen as a key contributor in Politics in Papua New Guinea: Continuities, Changes and Challenges. He takes us into the book by clearly elaborating on modern day Papua New Guinea (PNG) politics being heavily rooted and influenced by PNG’s traditional ‘Big Man System’. Ronald Seib as co-author of this book, has a Ph.D. in international relations at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University. His Ph.D. focused on the topic: The Development Path of Papua New Guinea 1884-1990.

The book being about the political system in PNG was published for the purpose of assisting Papua New Guineans who desire fair and equitable elections to be held. The electoral process is a key here because elections lead to good governance; this book gives a wide range of analysis on the political system, election processes, the formation of governments and how the government works in Papua New Guinea. Other important political stakeholders such as the church and the media are also included in this book.

Summary

Introducing the Westminster political system to a multi-faceted, value based and culturally developed traditional society was by no means a hectic initiative. The election and electoral processes, formation of governments, and implementation of government policies today are very much influenced by the big-man traditional way of thinking. The authors and other contributors explain this socio-political, economic and cultural realistic transition in various segments of the book.

Main discussion

The book consists of 10 chapters that critically address the development of Papua New Guinea’s political system beginning from; “Big-man Politics: Strong Leadership in a WeakState” which explains the details of PNG’s indigenous system of governance and the consequences of its influence on the current state of the PNG government. In the second chapter; “Leadership and Political Culture”, the system of governance in modern day PNG is seen as an integrated realm of both the big-man political mentality and the modern day Westminster system resulting in a system of nepotism involving elected leaders and their relatives from the different tribes that they hail from. This sort of favoritism has driven the rise of corruption and political instability. However, this chapter states good leadership as the solution for this political culture to be refurnished. “The Emergence of a Non-Liberal Democratic Political Culture in Papua New Guinea” as the third chapter follows the discussion of political culture by indicating the change from a liberal democracy obtained from the Westminster system to a non-liberal democracy in post-independence due to the lack of proper leadership. Elections and political leadership are two important components in a liberal democracy that are used to identify and analyze political practices. The fourth chapter “Political Parties and Elections” explains the elections in PNG and the ineffectiveness of political parties due to most elected candidates being individuals not belonging to any party. The fifth chapter explains the difficulties and experiences of women in PNG politics thus providing strategies to allowing effective participation of both sexes in politics. “Religion and Politics in Papua New Guinea” is the sixth chapter that elaborates on the role of Christianity in PNG politics. The seventh chapter delves into understanding the progress of media and how much PNG politics developed into a contemporary system by aligning itself with global affairs through the use of the media. The eighth chapter addresses a critical agenda of “Human Rights Violation in Papua New Guinea and in Bougainville, 1989-1997. The ninth chapter expresses the need for PNG to understand the political changes in Indonesia and learn the good and also the bad from its border-mate. The final chapter compares political trends with PNG and the Solomon Islands. All 10 chapters argue that PNG politics is incompetent due to lack of leadership necessary to maintain and uphold democracy and democratic rights while providing basic services and achieving economic development for its people.

Conclusion

The book consists of ideas that the authors and other contributing researchers have compiled to address and clearly present the transformative progress of politics in Papua New Guinea and the challenges that come with this change. This book is highly recommended for researchers and mainly Papua New Guinean social science students who find themselves in pursue of creating a better political structure through research and academia. This book captures the different perspectives of PNG politics and presents them in order to establish and develop a sustainable system of governance. The authors and contributors provide analytical recommendations as a bonus to understand and regulate the electoral processes and internal governmental affairs of Papua New Guinea which may also be inclusive of external affairs for the betterments of all stakeholders and citizens.

Reference:

Rynkiewich. M. A., & Seib. R, eds. (2000). Politics in Papua New Guinea: Continuities, Changes and Challenges. The Melanesian Institute.