Some say an as yet unformed, elusive national identity lies at the heart of the matter. In Bougainville, an island situated beyond the portentously named Bismarck archipelago, disaffection produced a vicious separatist war with Papua New Guinea in the 90s. Yet others, nearer the mark, believe the common cause of this widespread instability is economic deprivation. But in pitching the inhabitants of Malaita against those of Guadalcanal in a battle for jobs and pre-eminence, it mirrors Fiji's ethnic confrontation. After centuries of imperial power games, Europe's nations have a particular responsibility of redress.
Punitive sanctions are no answer for such peoples, washed up at the edge of our world.
The flotsam of our lost empires, of our dog-eared, Maughamian dreams, they are the ultimate victims of our vainglory.