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May 2008
Editorial Announcements
Fiji: Inter-group competitions and in-group fragmentation
by Sanjay Ramesh
Abstract
There are common themes that run across the coups in Fiji and most prominent among them are racial and ethnic compartmentalisation or lack of inter-group contact, caused by colonialism. After independence, the indigenous Fijian chiefs, who took over the reigns of power, continued politicising ethnicity, resulting in military intervention and racial conflict. Beneath the ethnic conflict, there are deeper intra-communal tensions, which are often ignored by the western media due to its complexities. The Pacific rhythms of coups and ethnic domination were challenged by the Fiji military commander, Frank Bainimarama, in December in 2006, who broke the pattern of ethnic coups in the country by making inter-ethnic collaboration a central theme of his military intervention. However, indigenous forces which were targets of the coup re-grouped to challenge the commander. This article observes political developments in Fiji, in particular the 2000 and 2006 coups, within the theoretical framework of inter-group contact theory and argues that historically inter-group cooperation in the country was undermined by indigenous nationalist pressures for in-group solidarity.
A Publication of:
Professor Paul Rogers,
University of Bradford, UK
Professor Kevin Avruch,
George Mason University, USA
Professor Elisabeth Porter,
Head of International Studies, University of South Australia
Professor, Priyankar Upadhyaya,
Banaras Hindu University Varanasi, India
Professor Ryokichi Hirono,
Professor Emeritus, Seikei University, Tokyo.
Professor Linda Johnston,
Kennesaw State University, Georgia.
Professor Christof Heyns,
University of Pretoria, South Africa
Professor Edward Newman,
United Nations University, Japan
Dr. Ulrike Christine Paula Niens,
University of Ulster, Coleraine, NI, UK
Professor Lori K. Sudderth,
Quinnipiac University, USA
Professor Kasaija Phillip Apuuli,
Makerere University, Uganda
Prof. Surya Nath Prasad,
Executive Vice President of International Association of Educators for World Peace
Professor Alexander I Gray,
University of Deusto, Spain
Professor Stephan Emilov Nikolov,
Institute of Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria
Dr. Francisco Sagasti,
Director, Agenda Peru, Peru
Prof. Barbara Tint,
Portland State University, USA
Dr Mary Jo Larson,
International Consultant in Conflict Resolution, USA
Dr. Kazuyo Yamane,
Kochi University, Japan
Dr. Necla Tschirgi,
former President, International Peace Academy
Professor George Cheney,
University of Utah
University for Peace Board Members
Professor Victoria Fontan
Professor Jennifer Hazen
Professor Abelardo Brenes
Professor Rolain Borel
Professor Hassan El Manyawi
Professor Elizabeth Griffin
Professor Juan Amaya Castro