Nationalism and Interdependence: The Political Thought of Jean-Marie Tjibaou

Abstract

The publication of the writings and speeches of Jean-Marie Tjibaou (1936–1989) allows us to sketch the main directions of his political thought, which aimed to reintegrate New Caledonia into the cultural, political, and economic Pacific framework. The apparent originality of the Kanak example might be illuminated by a comparative approach to the pan-Pacific ideology known as the Pacific Way. But when nationalisms lead to the emergence of new states, new difficulties arise — economic interdependence, and the necessary invention of new models, both regional and national, local and universal.