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Like Moses Who Led His People to the Promised Land: Nation‐ and State‐Building in Bougainville
Author(s) -
Hermkens AnnaKarina
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
oceania
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.356
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 1834-4461
pISSN - 0029-8077
DOI - 10.1002/ocea.5020
Subject(s) - state (computer science) , sovereignty , indigenous , nationalism , nation building , self determination , political science , normative , political economy , sociology , economic history , law , history , politics , ecology , algorithm , computer science , biology
This article focuses on indigenous religious beliefs and practices in relation to nationalism and state‐building in conflict and post‐conflict Bougainville. Since the early seventies, people of the island of B ougainville have sought to secede from P apua N ew G uinea and constitute a separate sovereign state. The almost ten year long secessionist struggle between the B ougainville R evolutionary A rmy ( BRA ) and the PNG D efence F orce ( PNGDF ) that eventuated in 1988, destroyed nearly all infrastructure, socio‐economic services, and the functions of the PNG state on the island. At the same time, the crisis also brought about the establishment of new local governments, such as ‘The B ougainville I nterim G overnment’, as well as a new Nation: the Independent Republic, later called the K ingdom of M e'ekamui, ruled by BRA leader F rancis O na. This article explores the creation of the M e'ekamui Nation and analyses the religious underpinnings of nation‐ and state‐building in Bougainville, focusing on the performances and normative frameworks used in the endeavor to become a sovereign state.