Thesis Abstract and Dissertation Abstracts

Asia Pacific Studies

Thesis Abstract by Viliami Uasike Latu from Date Submitted: Jun 13, 2006, 13:43

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Asia Pacific Studies, Ritsumeiken Asia Pacific University, 3

Disseration Keywords: international migration, socio-political and economic change, transformation

This Thesis Abstract | Dissertation Abstract may be cited as follows:

Thesis Abstract or Dissertation Abstract (Summary):
This thesis examines international migration and societal change that have taken place in the Kingdom of Tonga. It sets out to show the enormous complexity of the phenomenon, by examining various theories and factors relating to international migration, particularly as they relate to Tongan society. Its significance rests in the attempt to analyze migration in the light of the groundbreaking economic reforms introduced to the Kingdom by King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV when he acceded to the throne in 1966. These reforms have gradually transformed Tonga’s socio-political and economic landscape at all levels. Consequently, migration has resulted in half of the Kingdom’s population moving to live abroad, most notably in New Zealand, Australia and the United States of America.

The study used a qualitative approach, which is mainly based on interviews with key informants and observations of different sectors of Tongan society through fieldwork conducted in Tonga and in the three main host countries New Zealand, Australia and the United States of America. I begin by reviewing the theoretical literature on international migration including its relation to the socio-political, economic and cultural changes taking place in Tongan society, and to the wider processes of globalization.

The major finding of this thesis is that international migration is undoubtedly the leading force of change in Tonga’s socio-political and economic landscape today. The consequences have revolutionalized the form and content of key institutions in Tongan society such as the economy, the social structure, the political system and the church. The current political discontent represented by the recent push for political reforms is a clear indication of the pressures imposed by external forces of change on the political structure of Tonga with international migration being the key driving force.

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