This book provides in-depth social science analysis of this Melanesian nation at a critical juncture in its post-colonial and post-conflict history and an engagement with important global debates, with contributions from leading scholars of Solomon Islands. Organised around a central tension between change and continuity, the book examines contested narratives of changing state-society relations, the changing social relations around land and natural resources, and the critical distinction between 'state-building' and 'state formation'.