Following the signing of a funding agreement between the Papua New Guinea National AIDS Council and Social Science Dimensions in September 2012, we are now in the process of planning a Companion Product Condom Distribution trial in selected Papua New Guinea provinces.  The aim of this project is to trial the distribution of condoms attached to products that are widely distributed through organic market processes in a fragile state context, irrespective of government budgets and the availability of government vehicles, per diems, fuel supplies, etc, 

The  concept was originally proposed in a blog post titled 'Zen and the Art of Condom Distribution' on the Lowy Interpreter authored by myself and associate Dr. Charles Eaton. At that time (see picture to the left) we were thinking pragmatically and considering packaged tobacco as a suitable companion product due to its wide consumption in developing countries. That, of course, was a bad idea inconsistent with the objective of promoting improved health outcomes. Accordingly, we have cleaned up our act and are now focussing on soap instead. 

Further updates to be posted on this project in due course. 

The World Bank Jastis Blong Evriwan research report Wan Sip, Plante Kapten: Leasing on Tanna Island, Vanuatu was released this month. Co-authored by Social Science Dimensions Director Rod Nixon with Rae Porter and Leisande Otto, the report profiles all documented leases over customary land on the island of Tanna and includes some interesting new findings. These include the finding that the single largest category of leased customary land on the island of Tanna is leased by kastom landholders to other members of their own families (also kastom landholders). Intended as a means of preventing the loss of kastom land to members of other groups in a context characterised by population expansion and an absence of land titling, leases of this kind are referred to in the report as 'securing custom land leases'. The report notes that 'use of leases for this purpose challenges perspectives that associate lease registration with the alienation of land from customary tenure, since in these instances, leases have been initiated for the purpose of enabling the continuation of customary associations with land'.

The report can be downloaded here, and an earlier report on the leasing of customary land on the Vanuatu island of Epi can be downloaded here.

Announcing the release of Agribusiness Investment in Timor-leste: Guidelines Supporting Win-Win Outcomes, prepared for the World Bank and the Timor-Leste Chamber of Commerce and Industry by Social Science Dimensions Director Dr. Rod Nixon. These guidelines are intended to assist the sensitive development of post-subsistence agriculture in a traditional social context and can be downloaded here in English, Tetum and Indonesian. 

Guidelines for community members considering engaging with an agribusiness investor have also been prepared. Titled Working with Agribusiness Investors in Timor-Leste: Guidelines for Community Members, these can be downloaded here in English, Tetum and Indonesian.

Announcing the recent publication by Routledge of Justice and Governance in East Timor by Social Science Dimension Director Rod Nixon. Publisher's summary as follows:

Justice and Governance in East Timor: Indigenous Approaches and the 'New Subsistence State'
By Rod Nixon
Series: Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series

Focusing  on  the  case  study  of  Timor  Leste,  this  book  presents  the  New  Subsistence  State  as  a   conceptual  tool  for  understanding  governance  challenges  in  countries  characterised  by  subsistence   economic  and  social  relations.  It  examines  the  ways  in  which  Timor  Leste  conforms  to  the  typology   of  the  New  Subsistence  State,  taking  into  consideration  geographic,  historical  and  socio-­‐political   aspects.  

The  book  defines  a  New  Subsistence  State  as  an  overwhelmingly  subsistence  economy   corresponding  to  little  or  no  historical  experience  of  the  generation  and  administration  of  large   surpluses,  with  minimal  labour  specialisation,  and  the  predominance,  especially  in  rural  areas,  of   traditional  authority  relations.  It  looks  at  how  these  features  restrict  the  capacity  of  the  new  state  to   operate  effectively  in  accordance  with  the  modern  state  model.  The  book  presents  a  case  for   prioritising  sustainable  approaches  to  public  administration  in  New  Subsistence  State  contexts.    

It  goes  on  to  examine  the  historical  role  of  village  justice  systems,  and  demonstrates  how  a   community  justice  and  mediation  program  building  on  existing  capacities  could  prove  an  economical   means  of  promoting  human  rights  values  and  reducing  the  burden  on  the  national  courts.  The  book   presents  an  interesting  contribution  to  studies  on  Southeast  Asian  Politics  and  Governance.  

Table  of  Contents  
Introduction  1.  States,  Weak  States  and  New  Subsistence  States  2.  State  Development  in  East  Timor:   Geographic  and  Historical  Factors  in  the  Pre-­‐Colonial  and  Colonial  Periods  3.  The  Emergence  of   Politics  and  Political  Conflict:  Developments  April  1974  to  December  1975  4.  The  Indonesian  Period:   An  Assessment  of  the  Consequences  for  State  Development  5.  The  Transition  to  Statehood  6.   Governance  in  a  New  State  7.  Timorese  Systems  of  Justice  and  Conflict  Resolution  and  the  New   Subsistence  State  8.  Conclusion  

Author  Biography  
Rod  Nixon  is  an  Adjunct  Research  Fellow  at  Charles  Darwin  University,  Australia.  His  research   interests  include  state-­‐building  and  governance  in  non-­‐state  social  contexts,  and  he  has  worked  as  a   consultant  for  clients  including  the  World  Bank  and  the  Asian  Development  Bank. 

Announcing that Social Science Director Dr. Rod Nixon has been approved by the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) as a High Conservation Value (HCV) Assessor and Team Leader (socio-cultural and conflict resolution aspects).