Learning & events
Webinar recording | Reconceptualizing Peace and Conflict Theory as an ideology towards understanding domestic violence in Samoa
Dr Michael Fusi Ligaliga
pre-recorded | Online
"This presentation got to the roots of the topic with lots of detail and so imparted real insight. It was absorbing (and confronting as a woman of Samoan heritage, but so valuable). It would be great to hear from Michael again"
Reconceptualizing Peace and Conflict Theory as an ideology towards understanding domestic violence in Samoa
Over the past 30 years, Samoa has been a model example of peace and stability throughout the Pacific region. The fusion of traditional (fono o matai and fa'a matai) and western institutions (Westminster style of democracy) of governance, albeit not a perfect marriage, has nonetheless been credited with Samoa’s ability to sustain peace and stability. Despite this, domestic violence is now an epidemic in Samoa.
This discussion employs Galtung’s Typology of Violence to analyze Samoa’s domestic violence issues. Furthermore, three themes are discussed as contributors to domestic violence in Samoa: aiga or family, nu'u/matai or village/chief, and ekalesia or church.
This webinar is targeted at dispute resolvers and restorative justice practitioners working in the context of domestic violence and hopes to offer a Pacific perspective on this social issue. The webinar will examine, from a Samoan perspective, cultural and religious factors as possible contributors to the problem of domestic violence.
About the speaker
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Dr Michael Fusi Ligaliga Dr Michael Ligaliga was raised in Upolu, Samoa, and attended school in both Samoa and Auckland. He then moved to Hawai’i to pursue undergraduate study at Brigham Young University in Hawai’i, graduating in Political Science and International Peace Building. Currently Michael is lecturing at Te Tumu (Otago University Research into Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies) on Pacific Leadership and Peace and Conflict in the Pacific, which he continues to pursue and publish. |