Part 3. Themes

Table of Contents

5. The changing role of the Great Council of Chiefs

The Great Council of Chiefs as an instrument of colonial rule

The GCC’s dual political role

The army coups of 1987: Managing militant ethno-nationalism

The GCC and liberal constitutional reform 

The coup crisis of 2000 

The 2006 coup  

Conclusion 

Postscript 

6. The Fiji military and ethno-nationalism: Analyzing the paradox

The expansion of Fiji’s military

The shifting constitutional position

Bainimarama and the link with the Mara dynasty

Divergent trajectories

Good governance by militarization

Conclusion: Military futures

7. Swim or sink: The post-coup economy in limbo

A snapshot of the economy post-coup

The economic impacts of the coups

The macro-economy

Fiscal policy

Monetary policy

Sectoral prospects

Garments

Sugar

Tourism

Information and communication technology (ICT)

The way forward

Conclusions

8. The great roadmap charade: Electoral issues in post-coup Fiji

The authoritarian preference

Roadmap to engagement

The real danger of elections

The invention of obstacles

Were the 2006 polls rigged?

The power of chiefs, padres and pastors

The advantages of sheep’s clothing

Roadmap to Damascus

End of the roadmap

Conclusion: The primacy of domestic discontent