Academic literature on the topic 'Fiji Coup'

A thesis presented on the political history of Fiji from cession to Britain in 1874 compares and analyses the country’s four political coups. A military coup occurred in 1987 by Lt. Col Sitiveni Rabuka. Six months later he staged a self-coup. In 2000 George Speight staged an armed civilian coup or putsch, and in 2006 Commodore Frank Bainimarama, head of Fiji’s military forces, overthrew the government of Laisenia Qarase. This paper is an internal comparison of the four coups of which the aim is to examine why coups occur in Fiji. The conclusion is that the level of influence of the country’s traditional paramount chiefs is a strong causal factor in events leading to the political overthrows. Issues such as ethnicity, constitutionalism, democracy, traditionalism, and modernity make the study of the Fiji coups complex. All of the major actors involved have been present or have been somehow linked to each coup. Questions of leadership arise as do issues regarding pluralism and multiculturalism. These issues are discussed in this paper. The end result is that if the question of traditional leadership is not addressed within a democratic framework then Fiji will continue to have coups.

The emergence of China as a dominant force in international politics has challenged the traditional roles states have played in regions such as the South Pacific. The 2006 Fiji coup heralded a new era of competition in the region as PRC policy response conflicted with that of existing powers such as New Zealand. China continued to engage and expand its relationship with Fiji while New Zealand attempted to isolate the interim Fijian administration. This thesis looks at how New Zealand and PRC policy towards Fiji has clashed following the 2006 coup and assesses the implications for these powers as well as the long term stability of the region. New Zealand responded to the coup by placing strict sanctions on Fiji and lobbying the Pacific Islands Forum and the Commonwealth to suspend Fiji’s membership. Meanwhile, the PRC expanded its diplomatic, military and financial ties with Fiji and provided funding for the MSG, a frequent supporter of the Fijian regime.

This thesis is an historical anthropology of the role of the Methodist Church in Fiji, from the arrival of Methodist missionaries in 1830. At that time Fiji was a fragmented society. Fijians lived in villages on various islands, so there was no cohesion within the society. The insertion of Methodism into traditional Fijian society irreversibly changed the society, and this thesis traces the key changes that occurred. The rise to prominence of Chief Cakobau from Bau Island marks the beginning of unification of a fragmented Fiji. He formed the first Fijian government in 1871.The British Colonial authorities and the Methodists were also centrally involved in unification and the development of a national society as they set up structures to govern and evangelise the Fijians. However, the thesis argues that with the arrival of Indo-Fijians as indentured labourers to Fiji in 1879, the seeds of polarisation were planted and Indo-Fijians were left out of the frame of Fijian society. The thesis traces the involvement of Methodism, always in close relationship with the state in the twin processes of unification and polarisation. The coups that have changed the political landscape of Fiji served to alter the relationship between the Methodist Church and the state. A schism occurred in the Methodist Church following the 1987 coup, where violence against some ministers occurred, and the Methodist constitution was suspended. Members belonging to i taukei Methodist hierarchy who insisted on Fijian paramountcy to the exclusion of Indo-Fijians have been separated irretrievably from members of the Methodist hierarchy who believe in an inclusive society irrespective of race. Increasing diversity of socio-economic status allied with hierarchical divides and different interpretations of the Church�s mission have generated conflict in the Church and society at large. Diminution of the power of the Methodist Church in Fiji has occurred since 1987, and there are both internal and external factors at work which continue this trend. The various factors influencing the Church in the present along with its future prospects are discussed.

This thesis looks at the causes behind Fiji’s 5 December 2006 coup. It takes a twofold approach, first looking at the background causes which illustrate that Fiji was vulnerable to a further coup after the 2000 coup. The study then moves on to an analysis of the triggering causes. This analyses both the motive; consisting of threats to the military’s interests and failures of the government, and the opportunity, consisting of a deflation in the government’s legitimacy and military cohesion. To test these factors a cross-time comparison of the five instances of high tension between the Fijian military and Government is presented in an effort to identify how the coup differed from those disputes that preceded it. These periods of tension are: the 2004 reappointment of Bainimarama; the Unity Bill dispute; the January 2006 coup threat; the 2006 election; and the December 2006 Coup. From this analysis it was found that threats to the military’s interests were key in generating the motive for intervention, but that governmental failures were not a significant factor; while they motivated the military to be a vocal actor, they did not garner the motive for intervention. The opportunity was only found to occur when there was both a deflation in the Government’s legitimacy and strong military cohesion. For Fiji’s 2006 coup the motivating factors were the threats to the military’s interests, from the scheduled Supreme Court ruling on the role of the military, the rivalry with the fully-armed Tactical Response Unit of the Police, and crucially the pending criminal charges against Bainimarama. This coincided with the opportunity for intervention from a drop in the Government’s legitimacy as a result of a crisis in the multi-party Cabinet and the Government’s growing ethnic bias, along with strong cohesion in the military.

Ma thèse analyse l'histoire en train de se faire à Fidji, à partir du coup d'Etat de 2000 et de ses enjeux politiques. Les connextions qui s'établissent entre le politique et l'ethnicité s'articulent au travers de diverses relations de genre, de statut, de parenté, ou de classe sociale, à différentes échelles, locales nationales et interbationales. En reliant les observations particulières et les mises en perspectives historiques, je restitue les multiples déclinaisons politiques de "la tradition" fidjienne - de sa codification pendant la colonisation à sa reconnaissance constitutionnelle. Déconstruire l'idée d'une homogénéité inhérente à la notion de "chefferie", emblème politique de "la tradition" pacifique, autorise simultanément à reconstruire l'hétérogénéité qui caractérise les chefs coutumiers fidjiens dans leur ensemble. Mon analyse de l'ethno-nationalisme fidjien montre que les volontés de distinction politique, sur la plan national, se construisent en interdépendance avec les normes et les valeurs partagées au niveau international<br>My thesis analyses the making of history in Fiji while reflecting the stakes of the 2000 coup d'Etat. The connections between politics and ethnicity articulate various kind of relationships such as gender, status, kin or social classes, all selected in situ for providing heuristic relevancy at different levels : local, national and international. My analysis links particular observations and historical examinations to restitute the multiple political versions of fijian recognition. Deconstructing the idea of an homogeneous chiefly system to be emblematic of the pacific way enlightens the heterogeneity that defines the fijian chiefs in general. I suggest in the end that ethno-nationalism in Fiji has to be understood as a political distinction that is built up interdependancy between shared norms and values across the national and international levels

For many Australians, Fiji is a place of holidays, coups and rugby. The extent to which we think about this near-neighbour of ours is governed, for most, by what we learn about Fiji through the media. In normal circumstances, there is not a lot to learn as Fiji rarely appears in our media. At times of crisis, such as during the 1987 and 2000 coups in Fiji, there is saturation coverage. At these times, the potential for generating understanding is great. The reporting of a crisis can encapsulate all the social, political and economic issues which are a cause or outcome of an event like a coup, elucidating for media consumers the culture, the history and the social forces involved. In particular, the kinds of sources used and the kinds of organisations these sources represent, the kinds of themes presented in the reporting, and the way the journalists go about their work, can have a significant bearing on how an event like a coup is represented. The reporting of the Fiji coups presented the opportunity to examine these factors. As such, the aim of this thesis is to understand the role of the media in building relationships between developed and developing post-colonial nations like Australia and Fiji. A content analysis of 419 articles published in three leading broadsheet newspapers, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian and The Canberra Times, examined the basic characteristics of the articles, with a particular focus on the sources used in these articles. This analysis revealed that the reports were dominated by elite sources, particularly representatives of governments, with a high proportion of Australian sources who provided information from Australia. While alternative sources did appear, they were limited in number. Women, Indian Fijians and representatives of non-government organisations were rarely used as sources. There were some variations between the articles from 1987 and those from 2000, primarily an increase in Indian Fijian sources, but overall the profile of the sources were similar. A thematic analysis of the same articles identified and examined the three most prevalent themes in the coverage. These indicated important aspects of the way the coups were represented: the way Fiji was represented, the way Australia's responses were represented, and the way the coup leaders were represented. This analysis found that the way in which the coups were represented reflected the nature of the relationship between Australia and Fiji. In 1987, the unexpected nature of the coup meant there was a struggle to re-define how Fiji should be understood. In 2000, Australia's increased focus on Fiji and the Pacific region was demonstrated by reports which represented the situation as more complex and uncertain, demanding more varied responses. A series of interviews with journalists who travelled to Fiji to cover the coups revealed that the working conditions for Australian media varied greatly between 1987 and 2000. The situational factors, particularly those which limited their work, had an impact on the journalists' ability to access specific kinds of sources and, ultimately, the kinds of themes which appeared in the stories. The variation between 1987 and 2000 demonstrated that under different conditions, journalists were able to access a more diverse range of sources and present more sophisticated perspectives of the coup. In a cross-cultural situation such as this, the impact of reporting dominated by elite sources is felt not just in the country being covered, but also in the country where the reporting appears. It presents a limited representation, which marginalises and downplays the often complex social, cultural and historical factors which contribute to an event like a coup. Debate and alternative ways of understanding are limited and the chance to engage more deeply with a place like Fiji is, by and large, lost.

This research, affirms that some mechanisms of the transitional justice approaches can be applicable to SIDS conflict; particularly structural conflicts. The fourth principle of the Joinet/Orentlicher Principles of ‘Dealing with the Past’; the right to non-occurrence of conflict, was utilised as a conceptual framework to research the case of Fiji, as it addresses military and institution reforms; both of which are problematic area in Fiji. Focus groups interviews, semi-structured questionnaires and key informant interviews were used to collect data. The overall research question was: ‘How can transitional justice strategies address conflicts that are distinctive to Small Island developing states?’, and the more specific questions related to amnesty, military reform and prevention of coup d’états in the future. The thesis confirms that many respondents and key informants regard amnesty for coups d’état negatively and unjust. A number of key informants also think that amnesty is bad as it sends the wrong signals to the coup perpetrators and to future generations. Respondents felt strongly (78%) that the coup perpetrators should be held accountable as coups are illegal, but they also acknowledged that the military is too strong and praetorian at this stage in Fiji to be held accountable. Findings also indicate that there were mixed views on military reform. A number of other important reforms were also suggested by the respondents to prevent the reoccurrence of coups in Fiji. These include; education to foster a national identity, and reforms to the rule of law as well as to the judiciary. This thesis concludes that transitional justice mechanisms would be applicable to small island developing states but it would need to be tailored to the country’s specific needs. Additionally, if we are to ensure that another coup does not occur in the future, Fiji has to carry out military reform and revive discussions on amnesty, or such discussions will be driven underground and may fester into future conflicts.

L'usinage des métaux est un procédé de mise en forme par enlèvement de matière qui, bien que très développé et très répandu, n'est pas encore maîtrisé du point de vue des phénomènes physiques mis en jeu, et des simulations numériques. En effet, la coupe des métaux fait intervenir de nombreux phénomènes mécaniques, thermiques et métallurgiques d'une très grande violence. Dans le cadre d'études d'optimisation des conditions de coupe en usinage, il est fondamental de disposer d'outils numériques de simulation des opérations afin de comprendre et de maîtriser les phénomènes mis en jeu. L'objectif principal de notre étude est la formulation et le développement d'un modèle numérique permettant la simulation de l'usinage par enlèvement de matière afin de compléter les connaissances nécessaires à une appréhension globale et industrielle de la coupe. Le travail de thèse présenté initie les travaux sur la simulation thermomécanique de la coupe au sein du Laboratoire. Nous développons notre propre outil logiciel de simulation appelé "NESSY-COUPE". Celui-ci est basé sur une approché éléments finis et s'appuie sur une plate-forme logicielle en cours de réalisation au laboratoire : "NESSY". Les premiers résultats présentés se limitent à une simulation bidimensionnelle de coupe orthogonale et sont issus d'une approche langrangienne thermomécanique en explicite. Ce type d'approche nécessite un remaillage régulier du domaine usiné vu les déformation élevées, et une particularité de notre approche est d'offrir la possibilité de générer un maillage anisotrope afin de mieux prendre en compte les forts gradients présents (thermiques et mécaniques). Des comparaisons sont présentées avec des simulations effectuées sur des logiciels éléments finis généralistes comme ABAQUS et LS-DYNA.