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date: 14 February 2025

Fiji: The Militarization of Politics in a Small-Island Developing Statelocked

Fiji: The Militarization of Politics in a Small-Island Developing Statelocked

  • Vijay NaiduVijay NaiduSchool of Government, Development, and International Affairs, The University of the South Pacific

Summary

The Republic of Fiji is a small archipelagic state of less than a million people in the southwest Pacific. It has a relatively minuscule military force in global terms but is the largest among the island states of Oceania. The size of the Republic (formerly “Royal”) Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) in the early 21st century is due to its role in peacekeeping for the United Nations. The Fijian military became entangled in Fiji politics having usurped political power on four separate occasions in the last 30 years, and it can be unequivocally said that there has been a militarization of politics. At first, the military’s involvement in national politics was on the behest of defeated politicians but, 30 years later, the military itself has become a major political player. This is most evident by the fact that former military commanders and coup. The military has becoming a powerful player in Fiji politics has occurred in haphazard but overwhelming ways. Fiji politics has an ever-present “elephant in the room” which is the RFMF.

Subjects

  • Contentious Politics and Political Violence
  • Political Behavior
  • Political Institutions
  • Political Sociology

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