/_ /| ;f p / Public Disclosure Authorized PACIFIC ISLANDS STAKEHOLDER Public Disclosure Authorized PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT: William Sutherland Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized PACIFIC ISLANDs DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES LNumBER 7 ET AsIACAND PACIFIC REGION PAPUJA NEW GUINEA AND PACIFIC ISLANDS COUNTRY MANAGEMENT UNIT DISCUSSION PAPERS PRESENT RESULTS OF COUNTRYANALYSES UNDERTAKEN BY THE DEPARTMENT AS PART OF ITS NORMAL WORK PROGRAM. To PRESENT THESE RESULTS WITH THE LEAST POSSIBLE DELAY, THE TYPESCRIPT OF THIS PAPER HAS NOT BEEN PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROCEDURES APPROPRIATE FOR FORMAL PRINTED TEXTS, AND THE WORLD BANK ACCEPTS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ERRORS. SOME SOURCES CITED IN THIS PAPER MAY BE INFORMAL DOCUMENTS THATARE NOT READILYAVAILABLE. THE WORLD BANK DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACYOF THE DATAINCLUDED IN THIS PUBLICATION AND ACCEPTS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY CONSEQUENCES OF ITS USE. PACIFIC ISLANDS STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT: FIJI OCTOBER 1998 A Report for the World Bank Prepared by: William Sutherland Funded by the Government of Australia under the AusAID/ World Bank Pacific Facility The views, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this study are the result of research supported by the World Bank, but they are entirely those of the author and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organisations, or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent. For further copies of the report, please contact: Mr. David Colbert Papua New Guinea and Pacific Islands Country Management Unit East Asia and Pacific Region The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC, U.S.A. 20433 Fax: (202) 522-3393 E-Mail: [email protected] P A C I F I C I S L A N D S D I S c u S S 1 0 N P A P E R S E R I E S 2 CONTENTS FOREWORD.......................................................... 5 MAP .......................................................... 7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................... ................................. 9 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................... 11 INTRODUCTION .......................................................... 13 Fluidity and Uncertainty in Fiji ...................................................... 13 The Approach, Scope and Organisation of the Study ...................... 14 SOCIETIY, CULTURE AND POLITICS: A CONTEXTUAL MAPPING ....... 17 Overview .......................................................... 17 Tradition .......................................................... 19 Social Organisation, Authority and Land .................................... 20 The Situation of Women .......................................................... 21 Primacy of the Group .......................................................... 22 Core Values .......................................................... 22 Social Intimacy, Conformity and Support ................................... 23 Cleavages and Tensions .......................................................... 24 Western Liberal Democracy .......................................................... 26 Values, Authority, Structure ...................................................... 26 Political Organisation .......................................................... 26 The System of Native/Fijian Administration ............................... 27 Cleavages and Tensions .......................................................... 28 Capitalist Practice and Ethics ........................................................ 29 Structure and Values .......................................................... 29 Capitalist Development and Ethnicity ........................................ 29 Cleavages and Tensions .......................................................... 30 Economic Institutions .......................................................... 31 Ethnicity .......................................................... 32 Heterogeneity and Multiple Identities ......................................... 32 Ethnic and Demography .......................................................... 32 The Salience of Perception: The threat of Indian domination' ...... 33 MANAGEMENT OF SOCIAL RELATIONS ................... ........................ 37 Forms of Management .......................................................... 37 Ideological .......................................................... 37 P A C I F I C I S L A N D S D I s c u s S I 0 N P A P E R S E R I E S 3 Political ....................................................... 39 Cultural ........................................................ 39 Strategies of Management ........................................................ 39 Management by Fiat ....................................................... 39 Accommodative Strategies ....................................................... 40 Adverserial Strategies ....................................................... 40 Modes and Styles of Engagement ................................................... 41 Public/Formal ........................................................ 41 Private/Informal ........................................................ 41 Style ....................................................... 41 Levels of Management ....................................................... 42 THE CURRENT SITUATION ....................................................... 43 Overview ....................................................... 43 Stakeholders ....................................................... 43 Political ........................................................ 43 Bureaucratic ........................................................ 45 Traditional ....................................................... 46 Economic ........................................................ 46 Community ....................................................... 47 Key Actors ........................................................ 47 Political ....................................................... 47 Bureaucratic ....................................................... 47 Traditional ........................................................ 48 Economic ....................................................... 49 Community ........................................................ 50 Major Issues ........................................................ 50 Illustrating the Dynamics ....................................................... 51 Charting the Future: The Constitutional Review ........................ 51 What To Do With The Land: The ALTA Debate ............................ 55 The Great Council of Chiefs: Tradition, Rivalries and Roles ........ 56 Access, Reform and Fijian Economic Advancement .................... 59 Church and State: Methodists, Tradition and Politics ................. 63 LOOKING TO THE FUTURE ........................................................ 69 Scenarios ....................................................... 69 Balance of Forces ....................................................... 70 Issues: Persistence and Decline .................................................... 70 Risks and Contingencies ........................................................ 71 Conclusions and Lessons ....................................................... 71 REFERENCES ........................................................ 73 P A C I F I C I S L A N D S D I S c U S S I o N P A P E R S E R I E S 4 FOREWORD As in all societies, prospects for economic and social development for Pacific island economies are conditioned by the country's social fabric, cultural heritage and traditions, all of which exert a powerful influence over the pattern and prospects for development. Recognising this, when providing analytical advice and support for policy makers in Pacific economies the World Bank is obligated to move beyond a perspective that focuses merely on economic factors to one that incorporates each society's social and cultural dynamic and which acknowledges the influence these aspects play in social change and economic decision-making. The series of Stakeholders studies was initiated in 1996 in order to provide a basis for this broader approach and, over the ensuing twelve months, reports have been prepared for Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Kiribati. For each country the form of the study has varied, reflecting differences in the social and organizational characteristics of each culture. In some, the role of traditional or customary organizations is stronger and more pronounced; in others, formal community structures and organizations may be less defined or play a different role in various parts of the country and in relation to different spheres of social life. The linkages between traditional and introduced structures of power are also different in each country: in some, the boundaries may overlap quite clearly; in others, the functions of the government, the role of the church and the strength of traditions, for example, may continue to be quite distinct. We also wanted to consider in more detail the social patterns as well as the political dimensions at work in influencing social change and to understand better how Pacific Island societies function. Who are the important players in a community or society and how do they interact formally and informally? What are the structures that define their roles and how do they manage the interface between the needs of the in-group and those of the wider society?