Greed and grievance: the role of economic agendas in the conflict in Solomon Islands

Abstract

This article investigates the applicability of the influential economics of civil war literature to the case of the conflict which occurred in Solomon Islands between 1998 and 2003. It is argued that a modified version of the greed thesis resonates with particular aspects of the situation in Solomon Islands, particularly during the latter phases of the conflict when a variety of actors, including politicians, businessmen and ex-militants, were clearly benefiting from the instrumentalisation of violence and disorder. The underlying causes of the conflict have much to do with historical patterns of uneven development which have created overlapping boundaries of social-economic inequality and ethrticity. As is the case with other recent armed conflicts in Melanesia, issues of land, identity, ethnicity and socioeconomic justice were central to the conflict.