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Research biography

Dr Rebecca Monson draws on critical approaches in law, geography, anthropology and history to explore themes of colonialism, transformations in customary governance, and social inequality. Her publications have investigated questions around property rights, natural resource governance, disaster management, and access to justice.

Rebecca regularly undertakes consultancies relating to gender, development and justice for government agencies, donors, and non-government organisations. She co-authored Justice Delivered Locally (2012), a major report for the World Bank that outlines the findings from extensive research into the management of disputes across Solomon Islands. In 2014, she was invited to present at the UNDP Regional Consultation on Women’s Access to Land and Property, which provided the basis for UNDP’s work on these issues in the Asia-Pacific.In 2019, she attended an Expert Working Group meeting on women, customary and informal justice systems held by the International Development Law Organisation in The Hague.

Rebecca also has a particular interest in the law as it relates to disasters and emergencies. Prior to joining the ANU, Rebecca was a legal practitioner specialising in emergency services law. She also worked as a researcher with the Bushfire CRC and the Centre for Risk and Community Safet at RMIT.

Rebecca uses participatory research methods whenever possible and appropriate, and is committed to ensuring that her work is accessible to the communities she works with.

Research projects & collaborations

Rebecca's current research projects focus on:

• Gender, legal pluralism and property rights. The major output of this project is a book examining the impact of colonisation, Christianity and the cash economy on customary land tenure in Solomon Islands.
• Climate Change, Displacement and Property Rights in the Pacific: Rebecca is currently completing an ARC-funded project, held with Professor Daniel Fitzpatrick (Monash University), examining climate-induced relocations in Solomon Islands. This includes an examination of current and historical relocations, which important insights for the rest of the region.
• Gender, law and development: Rebecca currenty leads a collaborative project with Dr Moeen Cheema and Dr Jonathan Liljeblad, also in the ANU College of Law, into the links between gender and rule of law programming
• The Rush for Oceania: Rebecca was invited to join an international collaboration of academics, artists and activists developing a research agenda on 'The Rush for Oceania', which would examing contemporary oceans governance and postcolonial streams of thought within research in, of and on the Pacific region.

Grants

• Resilience and Vulnerability in Property Systems: Rising Sea Levels and Local Relocations in Solomon Islands

Consultancies

I am regularly involved in program design, and peer-review of program design for Australian aid programs. My consulting experience includes:

• Law and Justice Program, Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (May 2012)
• Justice Delivered Locally, Solomon Islands Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs and the World Bank Justice for the Poor Program (recurring, 2009-12)
• Understanding local context: evolving approaches to law and justice in Australia’s neighbourhood, AusAID (March 30 – April 1 2011)
• Gender and Natural Resource Technical Advisor, Solomon Islands Ministry of Women, Youth and Children's Affairs and International Women’s Development Agency (June 2010)
• Coordinator and Facilitator, Pre-Departure Training for Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development, ANU Enterprise, Canberra, ACT (recurrent, 2009-12)

Refereed journal articles

• Monson, R, 2015, ‘From Taovia to Trustee: Urbanisation, Land Disputes and Social Differentiation in Kakabona’, Journal of Pacific History, vol. 50, no. 4, pp. 437-449
• Fitzpatrick, D. and Monson, R. 2015, ‘Land law and natural disasters in the South Pacific’, Alternative Law Journal, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 195- 198
• Monson, R, 2014, ‘Unsettled Explorations of Law’s Archives: The Allure and Anxiety of Solomon Islands’ Court Records’, Australian Feminist Law Journal, vol. 40, no. 1, pp. 35–50
• Allen, M and Monson, R 2014, ‘Land and Conflict in Papua New Guinea: The Role of Land Mediation’, Security Challenges, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 1–14
• Monson, R, 2013, ‘Vernacularising Political Participation: Strategies of Women Peace-builders in Solomon Islands’, Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific, pp. 1-12
• Monson, R. and Fitzpatrick, D. 2010, ‘Asia-Pacific: Haitians must determine the future of Haiti’, Alternative Law Journal, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 41-42
• Monson, R, 2009, ‘Identity and Ethics, or, Trying to Avoid Being a Patronising White Lawyer’, Explusultra, vol. 1, pp. 87–92
• Monson, R, 2007, ‘Asia-Pacific: Law and order: finding legal solutions to civil insecurity’, Alternative Law Journal, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 112–114
• Handmer, J and Monson, R, 2004, ‘Does a rights based approach make a difference? The role of public law in vulnerability reduction’, International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 43–59
• Monson, R, 2004, ‘The 1998 floods in the Tambo valley’, International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 61–86

Book chapters

• Monson, R 2017, ‘The Politics of Property: Gender, Land and Political Authority in Solomon Islands’ in McDonnell, S, Allen, M and Filer, C (eds.), Kastom, Property and Ideology: Land Transformations in Melanesia, ANU Press, Canberra, pp. 383- 404
• Monson, R and Fitzpatrick, D, 2016, ‘Negotiating relocation in a weak state: land tenure and adaptation to sealevel rise in Solomon Islands’ in Price, S and Singer, J (eds.), Global Implications of Development, Disasters and Climate Change: Responses to Displacement from Asia Pacific, Routledge, Abingdon, pp. 240-255
• Monson, R and Hoa’au, G, 2014, ‘(Em)placing law: migration, belonging and place in Solomon Islands’ in Jenkins, F, Nolan, M, Rubenstein, K (eds.), Allegiance and Identity in a Globalised World, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 117-141
• Monson, R and Foukona, J, 2014, ‘Climate-related displacement and options for resettlement in Solomon Islands ’ in Leckie, S (ed.), Land solutions for climate displacement, Routledge, London, pp. 291-316
• Monson, R, 2011, ‘Negotiating Land Tenure: Women, Men and the Transformation of Land Tenure in Solomon Islands’ in Ubink, J (ed.), Customary Justice: Perspectives on Legal Empowerment, International Development Law Organization in conjuction with Van Vollenhoven Institute, Leiden, pp. 169-185
• Fitzpatrick, D and Monson, R, 2009, ‘Balancing Rights and Norms: Property Programming in East Timor, the Solomon Islands, and Bougainville’ in Leckie, S (ed.), Housing, Land, and Property Rights in Post-Conflict United Nations and Other Peace Operations: A comparative survey and proposal for reform, Cambridge University Press, New York, pp. 103-135

Conference papers & presentations

• Monson, R, Foukona, J, Fakaia, M, Fitzpatrick, D and Handme, J et al. 2012, ‘The Frigate Bird Can Soar: Local Governance and Adaptation to Climate-Induced Displacements in Solomon Islands’, Pacific Voices: Local Governments and Climate Change; Conference Papers, pp. 102–115

Other

• Monson, R, 2018. ’Gender and Law’ in The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology. Wiley Online Library
• Allen, M, Dinnen, S, Evans, D and Monson, R, 2013, ‘Justice Delivered Locally Systems, Challenges and Innovations in Solomon Islands’, Research Report, World Bank
• Fitzpatrick, D and Monson, R, 2013, FIG Paper Pacific Small Island Developing States Symposium in Suva Climate Change and the Legal Framework for Settlement Relocation in the South Pacific
• Monson, R 2010, ‘Women, State Law and Land in Peri-Urban Settlements on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands’, vol. 4, no. 3, Research Report, World Bank
• Monson, R, 2010, ’Participatory research on land issues in Solomon Islands’, E Journal of the Australian Association for the Advancement of Pacific Studies, Issues 1.2 and 2.1, April 2010

Currently supervising

• Sarouche Razi

  Topic: Sarouche is undertaking doctoral studies. His thesis is entitled: "Punishment, resurgence, and performativity: an exploration of constructing subjectivities in neo-Colonial civil law in Australia".

PhD supervision

I am supervising, or have supervised the following students:

• Sarouche Razi, ANU College of Law, 'Civil Law as a Space of Punishment of First Nations Peoples' - Chair and Primary Supervisor
• Brad Jessup, ANU College of Law, ‘Concepts of Justice in Australian Environmental Law’ - Panel member
• Caroline Compton, ANU College of Law, ‘Institutional ResSilience in Post-Disaster Recovery’ - Panel member.
• Bal Kama, ANU College of Law, ‘An Indigenous Judiciary in an Autochthonous Constitution: A Necessity or Nuisance?’ - Primary Supervisor until parental leave
• Heidi Tyedmers, 'Re-reading Vanuatu's national narrative: gender, culture and justice in a post-colonial Pacific State' - Panel member, RegNet, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
• Anna Annie Kwai 'History, Culture and Contemporary Gender Discourse in Solomon Islands', School of Culture, History and Languages - Panel member, School of Culture, History and Languages in the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
• Joseph D. Foukona 'Why Land Reform Continues to Fail in Melanesia' - Panel member, School of Culture, History and Languages, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
• Bianca Hennessey, 'The Possibilities of Decolonial Pacific Studies' - Panel member, School of Culture, History and Languages, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
• Daniel Evans, “‘Beyond Next Tomorrow’: An Examination of Urban Male Youth in Solomon Islands” - Panel member, Department of Pacific Affairs, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific

Current courses

Previous courses