Mitch Fox/The Hoya Deputy Prime Minister Misa Telefoni Retzlaff speaks at the World Bank Monday.

Samoan Deputy Prime Minister Misa Telefoni Retzlaff stressed the importance of good governance and warned Western nations not to impose the same model of governance on all countries in a speech onday at the World Bank.

Misa’s speech was the inaugural Peter Tali Coleman Lecture on Pacific Public Policy. The lecture series commemorates former governor of American Samoa Coleman (COL ’49, LAW ’51) and is intended to raise awareness of the Pacific Islands and to promote academic scholarship in Pacific issues. It is administered by the School of Foreign Service’s Center for Australia and New Zealand Studies as well as its Asian Studies Program.

Misa began his lecture, which was also the inaugural event of Georgetown’s Pacific Project, with the point that “good governance, in any country, is only as good as the weakest link.” He identified corruption and a lack of integrity as impediments to the process of good governance. He used the recent corporate accounting scandals at Enron and WorldCom as private sector examples of how a lack of honesty and transparency can lead to corruption.

Misa highlighted lucidity in government operations as a key component of good governance. He gave examples from Samoan government of judicial officers such as ombudsmen and human rights commissioners that serve as important “accountability mechanisms.”

“Strong leaders of integrity in a country can overcome the governance problems created by weak systems, but the strongest systems can be completely undermined when the leaders are dishonest,” Misa said.

But after outlining many of the principles that contribute to good governance, Misa made the case that no state should have a Western concept of government forced upon it. “For any agenda for good governance to be successful, sensitivity must be shown to the particular country’s unique situation, and the appropriate time frame for necessary changes to occur must be provided for,” Misa said.

He noted that the Samoan government has “introduced [its] reforms in a time of economic strength and stability,” while the World Bank’s aid programs, he said, often “wait until the county concerned is in dire economic stress.”

Cultural differences must also be taken into account when a Western nation or organization is offering aid to a Pacific country, Misa said.

“Do not impose a standard system of democracy; that may not be the model that will work successfully, for every small state,” he warned. Misa cited one aspect of Samoan culture, its “Matai” system, which is a “chief system based on communal responsibilities,” as a difference that required Samoan democracy to differ from the Western model. For instance, suffrage was limited to Matai-only from 1962 to 1991.

As he closed, Misa compelled the Western world to “show more understanding” when dealing with other nation’s political systems. He quoted the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., by saying, “darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

Misa chaired the World Bank’s annual Small States Forum, which took place Monday.