Howard's doctrine

However, pervasive development and implementation failures convinced many experts and policymakers that there was no substitute for the state in providing the conditions for market-led growth. Free market enthusiasts have come to realise that markets are not necessarily self-regulating or even self-establishing. Therefore much more attention is now given to building the capacity of state institutions for efficient governance.

In line with this trend, the recent white paper on Australia’s overseas aid program has highlighted “fostering functioning and effective states” as one of its core objectives. Towards this end, Australia has been attaching more conditionalities to its aid delivery.

However, what the pro-democracy riots in Tonga represent, more than anything else, is the dissatisfaction of many Tongans with the market-friendly policies pursued by the late monarch Taufa’ahau Tupou IV, which have led to even greater concentration of wealth.

The Tongan Government’s reputation has also suffered in recent years as a result of a series of shady and unsuccessful investments and an unpopular clamp-down on media freedom in 2003. Combine this with a relatively well-educated population and the picture is not so much that of lawlessness but of political discontent. As with the April riots in Honiara, we once again see disaffection turn into racism, with Chinese shop-owners targeted by rioters.

The Australian Government, through its aid program, has attempted to shore up the very same market-friendly reforms that partly led to the recent riots. Furthermore, it is clear that there is no substitute for the current undemocratic power structure if economic reforms are to be further embedded, considering the country’s very uneven wealth distribution. Ironically, then, one arm of government was sent to contain a conflict that emerged in part due to policies promoted by another arm of government. Of course, Australian aid is only a fraction of the sum-total received by Tonga each year, but the emphasis on state building for market-led development is common to all major donors.

For as long as the fundamentals of the government’s development dogma remain unquestioned, Australian troops and police officers will continue to be deployed to Pacific states to put out spot-fires, without truly addressing the root of the problem.