Can island-regions remain zones of peace amid rising militarisation?

The maritime regions in which SIDS are located have long been considered ‘zones’ or ‘oceans of peace’. But geopolitical tension is increasingly leading to military forms of conflict that are potentially calling this into question. But what does it mean to be a zone of peace? Have island regions always been peaceful? And what can small states do to resist the military designs of great powers? In this episode, Emily and Matt speak to a number of experts with their own distinctive take on these questions. We hear from Patrick Kaiku from Papua New Guinea in “Island Voices”. In our “Explainer”, we are joined by Arthur Snell from the UK, host of the Behind the Lines podcast and author of an important new book, Elemental. Then, we meet three guests – Sue Farran, a Pacific expert based in the UK, Richard Lynch from Trinidad, and Jacqueline Laguardia-Martinez from Cuba – to explore how different regions fit into this evolving geopolitical picture. Finally, in “No Stupid Questions”, Matt and Emily ask whether the regions in which SIDS are based were ever truly zones of peace in the first place. Featuring: Emily Wilkinson (host) | RESI Director and Principal Research Fellow at ODI Global Matthew Bishop (host) | RESI Director and Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield Patrick Kaiku | Director of Policy, Registry of Political Parties, Papua New Guinea Arthur Snell | Geopolitics expert, author and former diplomat Sue Farran | Professor of Law at Newcastle University Jacqueline Laguardia-Martinez | Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University of the West Indies Richard Lynch | CEO at Fundai Consulting and former Director of International Affairs, Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of National Security Resources: Programme page | Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI) RESI Book | Sustaining Development in Small Islands: Climate Change, Geopolitical Security and the Permissive Liberal Order Major RESI Report | The State of SIDS 2026: Defending the Special Case RESI Report | How SIDS view their development partners RESI Paper | Geopolitical competition, bilateral aid, and the collective interests of SIDS Patrick’s article | A Pacific “zone of peace” – what will it entail? Arthur’s podcast | Behind the Lines with Arthur Snell Arthur’s book | Elemental: The New Geography of Climate Change and How We Survive It Sue’s university profile | Professor Sue Farran Sue’s Ocean of Peace project | Pacific Ocean of Peace Jacqueline’s LinkedIn profile | Jacqueline Laguardia-Martinez Jacqueline featured in The Guardian | Helping the US to depose Maduro Richard’s LinkedIn profile | Captain Richard Lynch LISTENER SURVEY: To help us make Small Islands, Big Picture even better, we’ve put together a short audience survey and would love your input. You can find the survey at this link and your feedback will help us shape future episodes, topics, and guests. If you have a moment, please fill it out: it only takes a couple of minutes would mean a lot to us. Thanks for listening and supporting the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.