White Paper Series · Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Continental public safety frameworks assume geographic redundancy, mutual aid, and workforce interchangeability. Islands have none of these. Adapting continental frameworks for island communities is structurally insufficient — replacement frameworks are required.
The foundational ISPI research document establishing why mainstream public safety frameworks systematically fail island communities. Documents five structural differences between island and continental security environments and establishes the case for island-specific research frameworks. This research is produced under the ISPI Research Methodology Guide v4.0 — five pillars: government agency sources, regional organizations, OSINT/Bellingcat two-source verification, the ISPI Global Expert Panel of 78 members across 14 disciplines, and AI synthesis under practitioner review. All ISPI research is free under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.
Continental emergency management assumes mutual aid from adjacent jurisdictions — a condition that does not exist in any island community worldwide
Island workforce irreplaceability means critical positions cannot be backfilled from adjacent labor markets when vacated
Social density in island communities creates structural reporting barriers that standard insider threat and behavioral assessment programs do not account for
The five structural conditions documented in this paper apply equally across all 39 SIDS — Pacific, Caribbean, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and Mediterranean. The Samoa Pathway (2014) identifies governance capacity, disaster risk reduction, and climate security as the three priority areas for SIDS communities. All three are public safety domains addressed by this framework.
Pulley, Warren. "Island-State Security: Why Mainstream Frameworks Fail Pacific and Coastal Communities." Island Security Policy Institute, 2026. https://ispiglobal.com/papers-landing/wp01-island-state-security.html