The Failure of Democratic Politics in Fiji

ISBN-13: 9780198273226 / Angielski / Twarda / 1991 / 328 str.

Stephanie Lawson

Opis

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.

Recenzje

a thoughtful classical study of the nature and shortcomings of democratic politics in Fiji, ... Lawson's book succeeds best in providing an excellent ... case study for students of politics. It has a carefully argued theoretical framework for the democratic process, and a clear account of the actual working of the system in Fiji.

Spis treści

Introduction; Constitutional opposition and democratic politics; The early colonial basis of politics in Fiji; Europeans, Fijians, and the neo-traditional order; Indians and the franchise; Towards independence: institutional change and the emergence of the party system; Political parties and the party system in independent Fiji; The test for democratic politics in Fiji; Conclusion