book rev iews 257 skillfully demonstrate the complexity Fiji before the Storm: Elections and of both the prewar and wartime peri- the Politics of Development, edited by ods by showing that the categories of Br i j V Lal. Canberra: Asia Pacific Pres s “M i c ro n e s i a n” and “Japanese” req u i r e at the Australian National University, a sophisticated contextualization in 20 0 0 . i s b n 0–73 15– 3 650 –9; xii + 205 order to have appreciable meaning. pages, tables, figures, map, glossary, Their treatment of the United States notes, references, index. a$32; u s$30. and Americans, however, lacks the same complexity and contextualiza- The contributions to this collection tion, insofar as their analysis of the were for the most part written in the entire Trust Territory period is only aftermath of the 1999 Fiji general superficially assessed. Their attempt election (which brought the People’s to demonstrate the profound legacy Coalition led by Mahendra Chaudhry of the Second World War as enacted to power) and before the coup attempt continually in Micronesians’ political, of May 2000. Half the chapters deal economic, and cultural dealings with with the election or with political the United States would require developments leading up to that elec- another volume, and its cursory treat- tion; the other half are studies of eco- ment here detracts from the strength nomic development in Fiji, with one of their wartime historicization of that offers an analysis of women’s Micronesia. As the first comprehen- roles in politics. The volume was com- sive treatment of World War II in pleted and published in the months Micronesia from the perspective of following the political upheaval of the Islanders, Typhoon of War is a May 2000. The opening and closing welcome, necessary, and long-overdue chapters, both written by the editor contribution to Pacific Islands and (Professor Brij Lal of the Australian world history. Poyer, Falgout, and National University), thus incorporate Ca r ucci deserve praise for enlightening some analysis of the crisis and its the rest of the world about some of long-term implications for Fiji. the trenchant oral memoirs of Micro- This is a volume that traverses nesian peoples whose words and songs the highs and lows, the promise and ha v e be e n tr eated here with th e ut m o s t de s p a i r, of Fiji in the last decade of th e respect and dignity. twentieth century. Appropriately, the anne perez hat to r i first substantive chapter is by Sitiveni Rabuka, the man who did so much to University of Guam define Fiji’s politics in that decade. In * * * a personal memoir, Rabuka reflects on hi s po l i t i c a l co n v i c t i o n s an d th e fa c t o r s that impelled him along the path he took, from “soldier to military ruler, politician to practitioner of democ- racy,” and (at the time of writing) Commonwealth mediator and peace- maker in Solomon Islands. Inevitably one looks for clues as 258 the contemporary pacific • spring 2002 to whether or not Rabuka anticipated attract controversy, especially in the (if not colluded in) the insurrection lead-up to a new general election of May 2000. However, apart from under the same electoral system. Both briefly mentioning the disaffection of Lal and Robert Norton analyze the defeated Fijian candidates after the provisions of the new constitution, 1999 election, Rabuka does not dwell with Norton closely scrutinizing the on his loss, or its possible conse- wo r k i n g s of th e pre f e re n t i a l or alterna - quences. Instead he emphasizes his tive voting system, which he shows to ready acceptance of the election result have had the most effect in the Fijian and, more important, his continued communal seats, where exchange of support for the 1997 constitution. He preferences between a number of describes as “poetic irony” the fact Fijian parties sealed the fate of the that the two main architects of that svt. If a first-past-the-post system constitution (himself and Jai Ram had been used, that party would have Reddy) were “essentially rejected by ended up with 18 instead of 8 seats in the voters.” In his view, the voters also parliament and would have been the rejected the multiracial vision embed- second largest party, behind Labor. ded in the constitution. The increasing political fragmenta- How and why voters behaved the tion of indigenous Fijian voters, evi- way they did in the election of 1999 denced by the eight different political is the subject of the next two chapters. parties that fielded candidates in the Brij Lal’s analysis of the election cam- 1999 elections, has emerged as one paign and the subsequent results notes of the most significant issues in Fiji’s the importance for parties of an active politics. On the one hand it is the grassroots network and strong party inevitable result and product of demo- structure. The defeat of both the rul- cratic politics, yet its consequences ing Soqosoqo ni vakavulewa ni taukei pose severe threats to democracy in (svt) party of Rabuka and the Fiji. Alumita Durutalo’s article shows National Federation Party (n fp) of how the basis of Fijian political unity Jai Ram Reddy may be attributed in lies in fragile and increasingly out- part to the dormant or moribund moded structures, created in large structures of both parties, and to the part by the colonial state. Attempts to more effective networks of the oppo- shore up this unity (such as creating a sition parties, especially Labor. Both political party sponsored by the Great parties also failed to articulate and Council of Chiefs) have served only to convey policies that appealed to the undermine the institutions on which voters, unlike their opposition. Lal Fijian identity is supposedly founded. also draws attention to the perennial Moreover, extralegal actions ostensi- dilemma of parties that “court moder- bly carried out to entrench the politi- ation in a multiethnic society.” They cal paramountcy of indigenous Fijians often fall victim to more extremist and have only exposed and exacerbated racialist parties. intra-Fijian rivalries and divisions. The impact of the 1997 constitu- This outcome was evident after the tion, in particular the electoral system, 1987 coups executed by Rabuka and on the election result continues to has been particularly apparent in the book rev iews 259 wake of the “civilian coup” led by socioeconomic, and institutional fac- George Speight. tors. Developing such reforms will in While elections have tended to turn depend on research that applies fragment and further undermine Fijian analytical frameworks linking these political unity, as argued by Durutalo, factors. To enhance the effectiveness they also raise questions of identity for of the Fiji sugar industry’ s ref o r m pro- other communities in Fiji. In her con- cess, Lal proposes an institutional tribution, Teresia Teaiwa explores the structure that incorporates a more politics of elections in one tiny corner “innovative and holistic” approach of Fiji: the island of Rabi. The inhabi- to research than is currently being tants of Rabi (Banabans relocated adopted. from their home on Banaba or Ocean Joeli Veitayaki examines problems Island by the British colonial adminis- that have plagued the development of trators) form a small ethnic minority Fi j i ’ s subsistence and artisanal fisheries in Fiji, geographically if not culturally, sector. Despite the valuable contribu- politically, and economically marginal tion of this sector to rural develop- to the rest of the country. Political ment, it has remained poorly under- categories have been superimposed on stood and undervalued. As a result, the Banaban community. At one time state resources aimed at facilitating they were part of the indigenous Fijian and expanding production have often electorate; now they are part of the been squandered. Among the factors “others” category. The chapter ana- that Veitayaki highlights as reasons lyzes how such categories shape Bana- for the high failure rate of develop- ban identity and determine their elec- ment projects in this sector are poor toral choices. In scrutinizing the 1999 project planning, lack of marketing elections on Rabi, Teaiwa raises issues infrastructure and training, unsustain- of empowerment and representation able fishing practices, lack of motiva- for Fiji’s ethnic minorities—issues not tion and entrepreneurial drive among often addressed in the politics of Fiji. the indigenous Fijian fishers, and lack Attention moves away from elec- of project evaluation. In order to tions in the second half of the book, ad d r ess these failings, Veitayaki argu e s with chapters on the Fiji sugar indus- for more selective and targeted state tr y and the Lomé Convention, inshore intervention, based on commercial fisheries development, women in poli- rather than communal or political tics, and the Chaudhry government’s considerations. economic policies. Padma Lal analyzes Chandra Reddy describes the polit- the challenges facing the sugar indus- ical and economic status of women in try, which include the uncertainty of Fiji. She highlights some of the factors land leases and the future of the Lomé that have inhibited greater involve- Convention under which Fiji enjoys ment of women in both government pre f e r ential market access to the Euro- and the economy. These include lim- pean Union. Meeting these challenges ited educational opportunities and a will demand ref o r ms to both the farm- political culture that excluded women ing and milling sectors, reforms that from leadership positions in society. integrate scientific, environmental, Women in Fiji have gradually over- 260 the contemporary pacific • spring 2002 come these obstacles, and the 1999 the “madness in May,” as described elections saw the appointment of five by Brij Lal in his concluding chapter, women ministers and five women swept away Fiji’s hopes for economic senators. However, despite significant and political progress, at least in the ac h i e v e m e n t s , du e in pa r t to th e eff o rt s fo r eseeable future. Lal seeks to explain of women’s organizations such as the why the crisis erupted (and dragged Fiji Wom e n ’ s Ri g h t s Mo v e m e n t , Re d d y on) as it did, giving particular atten- notes continuing problems of direct tion to the question of what motivated and indirect discrimination. Address- and mobilized the coup-makers and ing these will require the combined their supporters. While politically efforts of government and civil society popular, “the cause” of indigenous groups, working in such areas as law Fijian paramountcy is ultimately a reform, domestic violence, and eco- chimera. Lal concludes that the “solu- nomic empowerment. tions” to Fijian grievances cannot be The economic policies of the achieved or realized by excluding and Ch a u d h r y government are discussed denying the rights of Fiji’s other com- in the chapter by Biman Prasad, wh i c h munities. Coexistence is the only shows that while the new government option. campaigned on a manifesto of sweep- This volume may be read as a ing economic change, its policies in political and economic commentary office were more in line with those of on Fiji at the end of the 1990s. But it its predecessor. These included contin- is also a valuable reference point for uing the privatization of some public where Fiji is heading as the new cen- en t e r p r i s e s , financial liberalization, an d tury begins. Will the lessons of the concessions to the private sector. It recent past inform the steps taken in also changed its stance on the prom- the immediate future? Some of the ised introduction of a minimum wage chapters obviously fit more easily into and did not initiate policies to redis- this context than others, but on the tribute wealth to the poor, such as whole it is an interesting collection reform of the tax system. Overall, that balances a variety of issues and Prasad argues that the Chaudhry gov- perspectives. Readers may well take ern m e n t mi s s e d an op p o rt u n i t y to st e e r issue with some of the arguments put Fiji toward an economic path more in forward. For this reviewer, Biman keeping with the Labor party’s ideals Prasad’s analysis failed to take into of poverty reduction and economic account the decision by the Chaudhry self-reliance. government to impose import quotas Perhaps the saddest irony of the for rice, a move that directly chal- events of May 2000 is that Fiji was lenged the previous governm e n t ’ s com- poised to reap the very significant mitment to free trade. The chapter by economic benefits of a period of sus- Padma Lal would have perhaps ben- tained political stability. Faith and efited from some analysis of the polit- confidence, shattered after the coups ical challenges facing the sugar indus- of 1987, had been restored, and an tr y. And it would have been of interes t honest and democratically elected if Joeli Veitayaki had addressed the government was in power. However question of whether corruption con- book rev iews 261 tributes to the many problems he of analytic approaches, ranging from describes in the fisheries sector. But orthodox criminology to political these are minor issues that do not economy models, which have previ- detract from an otherwise timely and ously dominated academic literature constructive volume. One question on Papua New Guinea’s “law and puzzled this reviewer, and that is why order” problem. After a general intro- the map of Fiji did not include the duction, a handy historical overview island of Rabi. As Teaiwa’s piece traces colonial and postcolonial atti- rem i n d s us , sm a l l as Rabi is, it de s e rv e s tudes to “law and order” as well as a place “in the Fijian sun”! sketching relevant aspects of Melane- sandra ta rt e sian social organization and the poli- tics of exchange usually characterized University of the South Pacific by the term “gift economy.” A central * * * theme of the author’s argument is set up in this chapter: not only has the Law and Order in a Weak State: imposition of state on a previously Crime and Politics in Papua New stateless society been a failure in terms Guinea, by Sinclair Dinnen. Pacific of the ideals of modernization (the Islands Monograph Series 17. Hono- replacement of “traditional” undiffer- lulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, entiated social institutions with differ- 2001. i s b n 0–8248–2280–3; xvi + entiable institutions typifying western 248 pages, maps, tables, photos, capitalist societies) but the “s t a t e ” ca n - notes, bibliography, index. u s$40. not be analytically isolated from the “society” on which it attempts to Currently a research fellow in the impose order. Department of Political and Social Following this chapter a short dis- Change at the Research School of cussion explains and argues for the Pacific and Asian Studies of the Aus- three analytic perspectives adopted, tralian National University, Sinclair mostly on the ground that concentra- Dinnen is a former head of the Crime tion on one perspective risks losing Studies Division of the National insights gained by the use of others. Research Institute of Papua New Gui- Dinnen proposes a synthetic approach nea and lecturer in law at the Univer- in which the economic contexts of sity of Papua New Guinea. In those group and individual behavior are capacities he spent much of the 1990s examined from the broadly “material- at close quarters to Papua New Gui- ist” perspective; the “social founda- ne a ’ s much pu b l i c i z e d “l a w an d ord e r ” tions of human behavior” (40)—par- problem, engaged with the chronic ticularly in the context of transition remedial efforts of the state and with from pre-state, pre-capitalist social the opportunity to directly observe forms—are examined from the “cul- the problem at the grassroots level turalist” perspective; and the role of through his own fieldwork. the institutions of state and civil soci- He has drawn on these experiences ety in relation to crime and disorder in this book, which is an ambitious are examined from the “institutional” attempt to move beyond the spectrum perspective. In regard to the “cultural-