Bookshelf: How the ancient Pacific civilization invented peace-building

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

Long before state governments around the world established nation-to-nation ties and developed diplomatic protocols, Pacific islanders already had existing systems for building relations, resolving conflicts and maintaining peace.

The newly released book, “Oceanic Diplomacy,” sheds light on ancient Pacific diplomatic practices that islanders have practiced "skillfully" for hundreds of years.

“What this book makes clear is that Pacific peoples have long practiced diplomacy—not in embassies, but through ceremonies, actions and relationships,” said Gordon Leua Nanau, associate professor at the University of Auckland.

He said the book “is about reasserting Pacific knowledge on our own terms.”

Nanau co-edited “Oceanic Diplomacy” with Dr. Salā George Carter and associate professor Greg Fry from the Australian National University. It is published by the Macmillan Brown Center for Pacific Studies at the University of Canterbury.

“These are systems that maintain peace, facilitate negotiation and ensure balance between communities, these have existed for generations,” said Nanau, deputy head of Māori Studies and Pacific Studies at Waipapa Taumata Rau.

“They are not informal traditions; they are sophisticated diplomatic practices,” he added.

Gordon Leua Nanau

Nanau’s scholarship and lived expertise position him as one of the region’s most knowledgeable voices on Pacific political systems, cultural governance and relational diplomacy.

“Oceanic Diplomacy” challenges dominant Western-led diplomatic frameworks by foregrounding Indigenous Pacific practices such as talanoa, Ifoga, feasting, ceremony, dialogue and relational negotiation.

“We noticed that states were increasingly drawing on these practices, particularly in peacebuilding, reconciliation and international forums, yet rarely acknowledging them as Pacific diplomatic models,” Nanau said. “Our aim was to make those worldviews visible and legitimate within global conversations.”

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Nanau wrote a chapter that explores feasting practices in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, where food and ceremonial welcome function as diplomatic tools.

What used to be a community activity is now an official function adopted by the state to welcome visitors, initiate development projects and resolve tensions.

“Feasting is not just hospitality; it is diplomacy,” he said. "It creates trust, signals respect and lays the groundwork for cooperation. Yet these acts are rarely named for what they truly are.”

Other chapters in the book examine talanoa as practiced at United Nations forums, Indigenous approaches to peace processes, including the Bougainville peace talks and formal state apologies grounded in Pacific tikanga.

“Oceanic Diplomacy” is published by Macmillan Brown Center for Pacific Studies at the University of Canterbury. The new volume brings together oceanic and Pacific-centered scholarship from across the region.

The book—available in print and e-book format—is the culmination of regional workshops and sustained collaboration beginning in 2020, involving contributors from across the Pacific and scholars who do research work in Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Hawaii, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu and scholars working with Māori and Australian Indigenous communities.

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