Several of the workshop participants, especially those who had worked in Papua New Guinea before independence, noted that the Southern Highlands was relatively quiet through the 1970s and 1980s, and that fighting, when it occurred at that time, was usually contained. This was due in part to the fact that many young men were employed outside the province, initially through the Highlands Labour Scheme and because kiaps continued to coordinate and dominate activities in the Southern Highlands well into the 1970s (Ballard 1983:175).

Throughout the 1990s, however, fighting in the Southern Highlands became increasingly violent and protracted, so much so that lawlessness now prevails in many areas. The upsurge in fighting in SHP seems to have coincided with the advent of large-scale resource development projects. Indeed many of the ongoing conflicts concern the distribution of oil and gas royalties and access to project-related benefits. Concomitant with this, many of the workshop participants observed that in the past 15 years or so new-style leaders have emerged and they, along with the younger generation of which they are a part, have come to disregard the norms, values and mechanisms of dispute settlement upheld by the older generation (see Walters, this volume). This has resulted in a situation in which communities are less able to manage conflict.

In the context of resource development, traditional leadership roles have been reassessed, such that young educated men, perceived to be better able to communicate with company representatives, have assumed leadership roles — in many cases to the detriment of their communities. While these new leaders may well have a good command of English, they often lack the leadership skills needed for effective conflict management. Instead of employing oratory to resolve disputes, they rely increasingly on high-powered weapons. In the Southern Highlands today, the majority of adult men either own or have access to a home-made shot gun if not an imported weapon. The prevalence of high-powered weapons throughout the province has meant that the police are often out-gunned and therefore reluctant to tackle the escalating law and order problems.

The past 15 years have also seen the advent of more insidious forms of violence. Goldman (this volume) observes that new forms of injury, including maiming, are now being perpetrated and that armed raskol gangs roam the province. In some cases ‘hired guns’ have been brought into the conflict by warring groups. Some groups within the Southern Highlands have begun to employ terrorist tactics, such as kidnapping and demanding ransom (Haley 2004).