The region of light actinides (Z{approx}88,N{approx}134), which is thought to exhibit signs of stable octupole deformation, offers a real challenge for nuclear structure models. We study the even-even Ra-Th nuclei in the framework of the spdf interacting boson model and we find that while the properties of the low-lying states can be understood without stable octupole deformation, higher spin states (J{approx}>12{Dirac_h}) in some of these nuclei (e.g., {sup 226}Ra) suggest that octupole deformation develops with increasing spin. We also discuss how octupole deformation can arise in the rotational (dynamical symmetry) limit.