Solomon Islands

eight The Solomon Islands have recently emerged from the rubble of ethnic conflict. As a young nation, it has had its fair share of problems. However, nothing has been as destructive as the period between 1998 and 2003, often referred to as the darkest moment in the country’s history since gaining independence from Britain in 1978. The ethnic con-flict between the people of Guadalcanal and Malaita ruined the country’s economy, resulting in the Solomons being labelled by Australian academics as the Pacific’s first failed state, although many Solomon Islanders disagreed with that description. The Solomon Islands (SI) media was often criticised for its role during that period for blowing stories out of proportion and sensationalising the conflict. This paper is based on a research project that sought to examine media’s contribution towards the establishment of peace in post-conflict Solomon Islands. More specifically, the research looked at several factors: whether the local media campaigned for peace out of a guilty conscience in reaction to accusations of igniting the crisis itself; whether the media advocated fo