Examining the History and Potential Future of Coups in Fiji

This essay delves into the history of military coups in Fiji, highlighting the significant impact of events such as the 1987 and 2000 coups on the nation's political environment and the development of a "coup culture." It discusses how previous coups were often justified in the name of indigenous rights, while the 2006 coup aimed to promote good governance and combat corruption. The essay also examines the legal and social ramifications of these coups, including their effects on the constitution, race relations, and human rights. Furthermore, it explores the role of the military in Fijian politics and the economic consequences of political instability. The essay concludes by considering whether Fiji might experience further coups in the future, weighing both the positive and negative impacts of past events and suggesting potential policies to reduce corruption and promote stability. Desklib is a great platform to find such assignments and past papers.

Running head: COUPS IN FIJI
Coups in Fiji
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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It is evident that, the political environment of Fiji has been revolving around the military coups.
In the past, Fiji has faced major turbulence in regard to the coups in 1987 (Chohan and Jacobs 2016).
However, the drastic affects of the 2000 coups created major impact upon the minds of the people ( An
and Sharma 2015). The notion of coup culture in Fiji from the beginning has been the greatest challenge
for the nation. In this regard, modern researchers laid emphasis on the fact that, over the last twenty years
Fiji has faced a number of coups which has created coup culture in the nation (Bryant-Tokalau and
Frazer 2017). It s worth mentioning that the coups which previously took place Fiji were carried out in
the name of indigenous rights and were widely in practice among the ethnic Fijian groups and the Fijian
institutions as well (Chand 2015). However, the 2006 coup formed an important part of military
activities and it was carried out in order to promote good governance and anti-corruption.
Authors emphasized on the part that the coup of 2006 was not even considered as a coup on the
part of the authorities of military. In fact it was referred to as a clean-up-campaign. In this regard, modern
scholars were of the opinion that, the nature of the military coups was such that it posed as threatening
harm towards the nationalism of Fiji (Fraenkel 2015). However, the previous coups of Fiji were directed
into the government offices that highly favored the existence of nationalist agenda and in such process
initiated land reforms and other actions in favor of the Fijians (Gong and Rao 2016). According to the
evidences presented by modern researchers, it can be observed that, from the very beginning, the previous
government was invoked a culture of corruption (Hanusch and Uppal 2015). Mention can be made
about the 2006 coup which was totally against the concepts of nationalism, racism and affirmative action.
According to the perspective of the contemporary scholars, the 2006 coup was successful in
implementing the installation of an interim government which would largely comprise of people
involving in the process of multiculturalism and political moderation (Kanemasu and Molnar 2017).
It is essential to lay emphasis upon the disruption caused by the previous coups in Fiji and at the
same time much attention needs to be paid upon the alterations made by the 2006 coup. In the perspective

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of modern autocrats, the previous coups invalidated the existence of the constitution and in this regard
emphasized upon the establishment of racially-based constitution (Kelly 2015). It was observed that the
military authorities rightly invalidated the constitution however; it was subsequently ruled out on the part
of the Courts that, the Constitution was still in existence and the nature of the abrogation was such that it
was not dependent on any legal validity. However during the 2000 coup, the military did not make any
attempt in its part to invalidate the constitution by further claiming that, the actions of the military was in
regard to the preservation of the Constitution. A legal document was formulated in order to provide
reasonable evidence about the fact that the nature of the coup was legal because it abolished the illegal
regime in regard to the violation of the constitution (Levin, MacKay and Nasirzadeh 2016). The
evidences provided by modern researchers clearly emphasized that the coup in 2000 was legal as it
abolished the illegal regime of the violation of the Constitution. Authors rightly commented on the part
that, the previous coups promoted racism to the highest possible way and in such process it attacked the
early Indo-Fijians (Madraiwiwi 2015). However, the 2006 coup was gratefully accepted by the Indo-
Fijians because it was involved in readdressing the past grievances committed by the previous coups.
According to contemporary scholars, the political culture of Fiji was widely affected as a result of the
previous coups (Michael and Kumar 2015). It was observed that, it encouraged the promotion of
indigenous rights as well as the application of the rule of law. From the evidences left by the early
researchers, it can be observed that, the State and the government remained in the control of the Indo-
Fijians for the purpose of safeguarding their interests and standards (Michael and Kumar 2015).
Argument can be enhanced in relation to the fact that, how the nature of the democracy could
actually manipulate the national interests of the Fijians. In this context, modern authors rightly
commented on the part that the democratic structure of Fiji cannot be considered as real democracy
because it was highly corrupted (Ratuva and Lawson 2016). However, in the perspective of modern
autocrats, that this kind of structure of the democracy is not legitimate and needs to be reformulated. If
the nature of the existing democratic structure is measured by elections then the underlying issues

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associated with it needs to be addressed. In order to address the existing issues in relation to coups, the
National Council has taken initiatives on their part for the establishment of a better Fiji in terms of
governance, democracy, peace and stability.
Contemporary authors opined that during the early years, Fiji was not ready for a democratic
change because there took place series of coups (Ratuva 2014). In this regard, scholars argued on
various factors however; the most important among them was in relation to the rights of the Indo-Fijians.
According to modern researchers, the Fijians needed a newly formed state of their own which would
comprise of the previous rights of the Indo-Fijians (Shannon et al. 2015). In this way, the indigenous
Fijians shall be able to elevate their faiths above the existing communities. After the 2000 coup, it was
suggested by the then Prime Minister of Fiji, Laisenia Qarase, that in covering the journey between liberal
and communal democracy, Fiji could not attain the its destination. In this regard, critics emphasized on
the fact that, from the very beginning, Fiji was not a real democracy and were not even ready to form a
new democratic structure (Tansey 2017). Therefore, there is an urgent need of a dictator who would
efficiently address the factors contributing towards corruption and racism.
It is important to mention the role of military in shaping the political structure of Fiji which is
also an important factor towards the outbreak of coups in Fiji. Many scholars were of the point of view
that, the military played significant role in the history of the formation of coups in Fiji ( Teaiwa and
Nicole 2017). However, confusion existed regarding the fact that, whether the military forces were
acting for or against the Indo-Fijians. In this regard, modern scholars were of the opinion that, these
military leaders entrusted themselves with a political authority which can be applied belong the law of the
land. Authors laid emphasis on the fact that from the beginning of 2000, the military forces were not fully
departed from its political stage (Gong and Rao 2016). The political forces always influenced the
activities of the military forces (Hanusch and Uppal 2015). This is due to the reason that, most of the

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leaders left the country as a result of the 2006 coup and in such process; the military authorities employed
the leaders who left the country from 2001 to 2006.
It is worthwhile to refer here that, the human consequences of coups cannot be ignored. In this
context, mention can be made about the freedoms of an individual; for instance, freedom of speech,
freedom of movement and freedom of assembly (An and Sharma 2015). After the breakdown of 2006
coups, there has been a violation of Human rights which has been justified by relying upon the grounds of
national security. According to the perspective of different authors, the previous coups and the coups of
2006 has created a new wave of injustice in which the nation has been wronged and victimized. Modern
scholars opined that, there was no distinction between the previous coups and the coup of 2006 (Bryant-
Tokalau and Frazer 2017). Authors opined on the part that, though the previous coups brought
resentments and conflicts within the nation however; the 2006 attempted to emphasize upon
reconciliation and nation building which was not successful. The coup of 2006 was considerably exposed
within the deep divisions of the different sectors of the society. Therefore, in this way, new divisions were
created within the society. Modern autocrats opined that the nature of the new divisions were such that
they were racial and regional. However, these divisions were political in nature. Modern authors were of
the opinion that, in the absence of democratic institutions within the nation, there can be two different
outcomes- one is violence while the other is readdressing the present situation (Chand 2015). The new
divisions which enumerated as a result of recent coups entrusted powers upon the human rights activists
to stand up against the traditional nature of the coups which existed long before. In this regard, authors
were of the point of view that, the makers of law actively supported the beginning of the new regime
(Kelly 2015). In this regard, the law makers decided to divide the civil society and well as the branches
of judiciary which has been one of the progressive attempts on the part of the legal authorities till date.
Finally, emphasis can be laid upon the affects of negative economic downfall as a result of the
previous coups and the coup of 2006. Different scholars emphasized that, as a result of economic fallout,

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it gave rise to political instability and uncertainty (Ratuva 2014). In this regard, huge pressure was
highly noticeable in both the areas of domestic and international economy which created unfavorable
impact within a definite time period.
There is a question regarding the fact that, whether there will be further coups in Fiji in the future.
In this regard, it can be rightly commented that, as a result of the failure of the new regime, which created
fragmentation within the structural framework of military; there broke down a violent eruption within the
nations (Tansey 2017). However, the perspectives in regard to the future are mixed. In this context,
emphasis can be made on both the positive and negative side. Therefore, focusing upon the positive
effects created by the coups, it can be rightly mentioned that, at the beginning of the 1987 coups, a
flourishing civil society was established in Fiji which fulfilled the gaps created as result of political
instability (Fraenkel 2015). It can be observed that the coups of 1987strenghtened the political stability
within the Fijian society which has been weakened by the military coups. This has been a major positive
force within the Fijian society. In this context, mention can be made of the policies formulated during the
Bainimarama regime which was considered the key to the future development of Fiji. The leaders failed
on their part to reduce the level of corruption and discontent that existed within the country (Madraiwiwi
2015). Therefore, it can be argued that, policies needs to be proposed for the purpose of removing
communal-based electoral system. With the reduction in communal voting system, the wave of corruption
shall diminish considerably.
It is worth stating that, by focusing upon the negative side of the outbreak of coups in Fiji, the
future of the Fijians without the occurrence of coups is not promising at all. In this regard, it is
worthwhile to mention here that, various confusions may arise regarding the fact that how a coup needs to
be portrayed (Narayan and Singh 2014). It was evident, from the very beginning that, each and every
coup that occurred in Fiji was recognized to be right and at the same time legal. However, it was clearly
visible from the evidences provided by the early researches that the nature of the coups were such that it

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could be easily identified as an act of violence and destabilization that has eroded the existing rule of law
(Ratuva and Lawson 2016). It can be emphasized that as a result of consistent outbreak of coups in Fiji,
it has been increasingly confusing for the nation to decide matters in relation to right and wrong.
In the conclusion, it can be stated that, the practice of coups will be always carried out in Fiji as
long as there existed military activities within the country. However, changes should be made in the
perspective of the individuals regarding the practice of coups. The Fijians should gain adequate
knowledge regarding the fact that a coup is a justifiable and a political option which needs to be carried
out for the benefit of the country. As a result of the recent outbreak of coup, the power of the military in
relation to the sudden takeover of the democratically elected government has changed drastically. The
power of the military is considered above all. In this way, the depravity of the challenge faced by the
Fijian society has been clearly evidenced. It can be rightly emphasized that, there can be future outbreak
of coups in Fiji which may or may not be dependent upon the positive and negative factors mentioned
above. Therefore, if the individuals of the society, the concerned leaders repudiate the use of violence in
the political environment, then the democratic forces cannot create unfavorable impact upon the political
life of the Fijians. In this way the potentiality can never be realized by the Fijians. Lastly, it can be
concluded that there can definitely be a coup in near future in Fiji however; the nature of the coup has to
be such that it should not promote uncertainty and violence.

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