Oceanic Diplomacy reveals longstanding ancient Pacific practices

Oceanic Diplomacy, shines a critical light on Pacific diplomatic practices that have sustained relationships, resolved conflict and maintained peace across Oceania for hundreds of years - long before the rise of modern nation-states.

Co-edited by University of Auckland’s Associate Professor Gordon Leua Nanau with colleagues and collaborators from the Australian National University, Dr Salā George Carter and Associate Professor Greg Fry, Oceanic Diplomacy is published by Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Canterbury. The new volume brings together oceanic and Pacific-centred scholarship from across the region.

Associate Professor Nanau is Deputy Head of Māori Studies and Pacific Studies at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland. His scholarship and lived expertise position him as one of the region’s most knowledgeable voices on Pacific political systems, cultural governance, and relational diplomacy.

“What this book makes clear is that Pacific peoples have long practised diplomacy - not in embassies, but through ceremonies, actions and relationships,” says Associate Professor Nanau.

“These are systems that maintain peace, facilitate negotiation, and ensure balance between communities, these have existed for generations. They are not informal traditions - they are sophisticated diplomatic practices.”

Oceanic diplomacy: longstanding, but largely unacknowledged

Oceanic Diplomacy challenges dominant Western-led diplomatic frameworks by foregrounding Indigenous Pacific practices such as talanoa, Ifoga, feasting, ceremony, dialogue and relational negotiation - many of which are now being used by modern states and international institutions without recognition of their origins.

The book grew out of regional workshops and sustained collaboration beginning in 2020, involving contributors from across the Pacific, and scholars who do research work in Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Hawai’i, Kanaky/New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, and scholars working with Māori and Australian Indigenous communities.

“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,” Associate Professor Nanau says.

“Our aim was to make those worldviews visible and legitimate within global conversations.”

From Solomon Islands to United Nations

In his own chapter, Associate Professor Nanau explores feasting practices in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, demonstrating how food, hosting and ceremonial welcome, function as diplomatic tools - used historically at community level and now by the modern Solomon Islands state to welcome visitors, initiate development projects, and resolve tensions.

“Feasting is not just hospitality; it is diplomacy,” he says.

“It creates trust, signals respect and lays the groundwork for cooperation. Yet these acts are rarely named for what they truly are.”

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

A resource for the Pacific and beyond

Published in both print and e-book format, Oceanic Diplomacy is intentionally accessible for Pacific students, communities and policymakers, as well as international audiences seeking to better understand Pacific worldviews.
“This is about reasserting Pacific knowledge on our own terms,” Associate Professor Nanau says.

“Diplomacy does not only belong to the West. Our ancestors practised it skilfully - and we are still practising it today.”

With its collective Pacific authorship and emphasis on lived practice, Oceanic Diplomacy offers a timely reframing of diplomacy as relational, place-based and deeply human - grounded in the oceanic connections that bind Pacific peoples.