Paper long abstract:

The state in Melanesia is often treated as a new development, but the last decade of research in that region shows that recent engagements with the place of the state in everyday life of Melanesians informs current conceputal categories of anthropology thought. More specifically the post colonial period in Papua New Guinea introduced a new form of critique of Melanesia's place in global relations, drawing constructively on categories of social and political life that have been significant for some time. A full engagement with coroporate development of the region's resources, with the partnership of the state created a critique of neoliberalism.