the South Pacific Islands: Economic, Political and Legal Interactions

Abstract

This thesis seeks to demonstrate that Oceania is strategically, socially and politically important to the development of the Pacific Basin and that historical facts clearly evidence this importance. The United States, an undoubted principal actor in Pacific Basin Affairs, has been extremely solicitous of Oceania. This deference is a clear illustration of Oceania\u27s long-term importance to the development of the larger Pacific Basin region. A subsidiary objective of this thesis is to analyze the facts of the U.S.-Oceania relationship in the context of each side\u27s evolving interests in order to develop several recommendations for future development of that relationship and of Oceania in the context of the Pacific Basin