Island identities? Comparing the perceptions of islanders towards governing institutions and quality of life

Abstract

In this paper, we seek to shed light on issues related to satisfaction with government institutions and personal quality of life from living on an island, teasing out common themes to determine whether there is a shared identity among islanders, regardless of geography, level of development and size, as it relates to governance. We explore these qualities in six different groups of island residents across ten islands or archipelagos, ranging in size, location and governance features. Half are sovereign states and the rest are subnational island jurisdictions: Tobago (Trinidad & Tobago), Grenada, Prince Edward Island (Canada), St. Lucia, Lesvos (Greece), Cyprus, Newfoundland (Canada), Iceland, Reunion (France) and Mauritius. Using a Likert-type questionnaire, island participants were asked about the factors that constitute “quality of life” on their islands, with a particular focus on governance. The construction of composite indicators from survey questions and cluster analysis allows us to compare the attitudes within and between different groups of islands and stakeholder groups. Results suggest that, despite significant contextual variances among stakeholders and island locations and situations, some common threads run through all groups and all islands, related to the group the respondents were classified in. These threads comprise a rough basis for a deeper understanding of island identities.