Dr Sinclair Dinnen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pacific Affairs.

Sinclair is a Pacific specialist (particularly Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands) and has a background in socio-legal studies.

His doctoral research was undertaken in PNG while he was a research fellow at the National Research Institute (1992-1995). This research was published as ‘Law and Order in a Weak State: Crime and Politics in Papua New Guinea’ (University of Hawai’i Press, 2001).

Sinclair has long-standing research interests in the areas of regulatory pluralism, comparative criminology, justice reform, policing, conflict, peacebuilding, governance, politics, development assistance, and relations with Australia, and post-colonial state formation and nation-building.

These include the contested and syncretic character of authority, regulation and peacebuilding in Melanesia and its implications for institutional development and state formation. He also has an ongoing interest in the changing discourse and practice of international development and, in particular, the security-development nexus.


Fields of expertise



More information

ANU researcher page


Articles

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Solomon Islands riots reflect deeper unrest

Civil unrest in the Solomon Islands is not surprising and highlights long-standing development and governance challenges, according to…

26 November 2021



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PNG’s private security industry could improve public safety

A new report from researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) highlights the vital role private security plays…

3 September 2021



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