The children thought it was snow. But what they held in their hands was anything but beautiful; what they held would creep into their DNA and sicken their people. What they held in their hands were ashes of death because it was nuclear fallout. From 1946 to 1958, the US held sixty-seven nuclear weapons tests in the Marshall Islands. In 1946 the Navy told the people of Bikini Atoll that these tests were for the good of mankind.

From cancer to “jellyfish babies” born with no bones and transparent skin, this period of nuclear testing would be devastating to the Marshallese people, their health, and their environment. For the US, this testing in the Marshall Islands was justified in the name of national security. They believed the islands were a perfect place to experiment with nuclear weapons.

Referring to whether or not the US should forcefully take land from the Marshallese for military purposes, instead of buying the land, US Secretary of State at the time Henry Kissinger said, “There are only 90,000 people out there, who gives a damn?” ¹ This quote highlights the vast difference in perspective between those who live in the islands and those who view the islands as a place to control.

Unfortunately, it is not just the US that views the Pacific Islands this way. Both the United Kingdom and France also tested nuclear weapons in the Pacific Islands, Kiritimati and Moruroa, respectively.

Understanding why the Pacific Islands have been and continue to be used and viewed in this way is the core objective of this module. In this module, we will explore what geopolitics means and how it affects the islands. We will also examine the role that military strategy plays in imperialism in the Pacific Islands, and how Pacific Islanders are exercising agency among geopolitical maneuvering today.