The Failure of Democratic Politics in Fiji

by Stephanie Lawson

Using the techniques of the historian, the anthropologist, and the political theorist, Lawson discusses the contemporary political situation in Fiji from both a historical and theoretical viewpoint. Drawing on archival material and fieldwork, she traces the sources of the current divisions in Fiji to the well-intentioned, but ultimately misguided, ambitions of colonial administrators to protect the way of life of indigenous Fijians. The author comes to the provocative conclusion that Fiji has never really been a democracy in the Western sense of the word.

322 pages, Hardcover

First published September 5, 1991

About the author

Professor in Macquarie University's Department of Modern History, Politics and International Relations, Sydney, Australia