Vanuatu
Vanuatu comprises a Y-shaped archipelago of sixty-five inhabited tropical islands located in the Western Pacific. Formerly known as the New Hebrides, the country obtained independence on July 30, 1980. The population, estimated at around 200,000 in 2005, is highly ethno-linguistically diverse, with around 110 indigenous languages spoken in addition to French, British and a Pigin lingua franca called Bislama.
The New Hebrides was originally settled around 3,000 years ago, during the Austronesian migrations from East Asia across the Pacific. From the 1860s onward, "blackbirding" vessels recruited indentured laborers among the islands to work on plantations in Queensland or Fiji, or in a variety of occupations in neighboring New Caledonia (which had become a French colony in 1853). Competition between British and French settlers led to the establishment of a joint Anglo-French Naval Commission in 1887. As part of the Entente Cordiale agreement between Britain and France, in 1906 the country became a jointly run Anglo-French condominium, with separate British and French administrations.
Leading up to independence in 1980, divisions emerged between islanders identifying with the British and French administrations (Anglophones and Francophones), with active intervention from the French Residency in the capital, Port Vila, and neighboring New Caledonia. Victory for the Anglophone Vanua'aku Parti at the polls in 1979 triggered a secessionist rebellion on Santo in the northern part of the group and Tanna toward the south, which was ultimately crushed by the deployment of British, French, and, crucially, Papua New Guinea troops.
Led by the Anglican minister Walter Hayde Lini (1971–1999), the Vanua'aku Parti government proved able to secure victory at all elections held until 1991. Ever since, the country has witnessed greater instability under successive fragile coalition governments. Large numbers of independents and candidates representing small political parties contest elections, with the consequence that victors often secure only a small share of the vote.
Vanuatu is one of the poorer of the Pacific countries. Around 80 percent of the population live in rural areas, mainly reliant on subsistence cultivation. Overseas aid accounts for around a fourth of gross national product, and most formal employment is in the tourism and government sectors. The country's main exports are copra, kava, beef, cocoa, timber, and coffee.
(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/THE GALE GROUP)The 1980 constitution, which was agreed on by the French and British governments, provides for a unicameral parliament and an independent judiciary. To allay the fears of the Francophone minority, the semiproportional, single nontransferable voting system was adopted. Since 1980, the number of parliamentary seats has risen from thirty-nine to fifty-two, with members elected on the basis of universal suffrage for those over eighteen years of age. The president is the head of state, and is elected by members of parliament and presidents of the provincial governments every five years. Vanuatu has six provinces, each with its own provincial government, with further powers are devolved to area councils.
The constitution entitles citizens to fundamental rights, freedoms, and protections. According to the U.S. State Department, there are no recent reports of arbitrary arrest or detention, torture, or politically motivated execution.
Parliamentary Systems.
Bibliography
Larmour, Peter, ed. Land Tenure in Vanuatu. Suva, Fiji: University of the South Pacific, Institute of Pacific Studies, 1984.
Morgan, Michael. "Converging on the Arc of Instability? The Fall of Barak Sope and the Spectre of a Coup in Vanuatu." In "Arc of Instability?" Melanesia in the Early 2000s, ed. Ron J. May. Canberra, Australia: Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Canterbury and State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Project, 2003.
Republic of Vanuatu. Constitution of the Republic of Vanuatu. Suva, Fiji: University of the South Pacific School of Law, Pacific Island Legal Information Institute, 2004.
Shineberg, Dorothy. They Came for Sandalwood: A Study of the Sandalwood Trade in the South-West Pacific, 1830–1865. Melbourne, Australia: Melbourne University Press, 1967.
Van Trease, Howard, ed. Melanesian Politics: Stael Blong Vanuatu. Suva, Fiji: University of the South Pacific, Institute of Pacific Studies, 1995.
Van Trease, Howard. The Politics of Land in Vanuatu: From Colonial to Independence. Suva, Fiji: University of the South Pacific, Institute of Pacific Studies, 1987.
"Vanuatu." CIA World Factbook 2004. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2004.
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