Sinclair Dinnen, LLB (Hons) (Strath), MA (Sheff), PhD (ANU)
Senior Fellow, State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program (SSGM)

Email: Sinclair.Dinnen@anu.edu.au

Biographical Statement

My current research focuses on the interface between formal and informal justice practices, the security-development nexus and broader processes of state-building and nation-building in the Pacific island countries. I lived and worked in PNG for many years and have undertaken extensive research and policy work in PNG, Solomon Islands, and Fiji.

Research Interests

Conflict and peace building; legal pluralism; comparative criminology; governance in fragile states; the politics of aid; and Australia's relations with the Pacific.

Key Publications

• (with Andrew Goldsmith) ‘Transnational Police Building: critical lessons from Timor-Leste and Solomon Islands’. Third World Quarterly, Vol.28, No.6, 2007, 1091-1109.
• ‘State-Building in a Post-Colonial Society: The Case of Solomon Islands’. Chicago Journal of International Law, Vol.9, No. 1, Summer 2008. 51-78.
• (ed. with Stewart Firth) Politics and State-Building in Solomon Islands. Asia-Pacific Press and ANU E-Press 2008.

Career Highlights

Lecturer in Law, University of Papua New Guinea; Head, Crime Studies Division, PNG National Research Institute (1992-1994); Law and Justice Adviser to PNG Government (1999 & 2003); Adviser to the Solomon Islands Peace Process (2000).