Beyond governance in Samoa: Understanding Samoan political thought

In the Samoan polity today, the indigenous institution of the matai (chiefs) continue's to play a pivotal role in governance. In determining leadership, the fa'as (a) over bar moa (Samoan way) and the fa'amatai (way of the chiefs) are the most influential factors. Yet this has not prevented S (a) over bar moa from experiencing governance problems found in other countries of the region, although perhaps on a lesser scale: misunderstanding, frustration, alienation, migration, discrimination, malpractice, patronage, and violence. Reasons for this may be (i) a lack of correspondence between fa'as (a) over bar moa and liberal democracy; (2) a lack of general understanding and critical assessment of the principles of liberal democracy in S (a) over bar moa; (3) a combination of misuse, abuse, or misunderstanding of fa'as (a) over bar moa; and (4) a lack of publicity and critical assessment of the principles of fa'as (a) over bar moa. This paper examines aspects of these four characteristics of the Samoan polity and looks at ways of reassessing governance. It draws on literature that deals with some of the main features of Samoan political thought, as well as on discussions with Samoan scholars and thinkers. This introduction to a different approach to Samoan governance also briefly reviews some of the political forces and tensions at play in S (a) over bar moa to show how they impact current political conceptualization.