Rory Ewins's Pacific Islands Politics

For much of the 1990s I was a student of Pacific islands politics, studying the interaction of tradition and politics in Fiji and Tonga. These pages collect some of my writings on the subject: some deal with specific events in Fiji and Tonga, while others range more widely and touch on the realm of political theory.


goColour, Class and Custom: The Literature of the 1987 Fiji Coup
Web version of a paper surveying the literature of the 1987 Fiji Coup, first published in 1992.

goChanging Their Minds: Tradition and Politics in Contemporary Fiji and Tonga
Abstract and extract from book published in 1998.

goThe 1993 Silver Jubilee of Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, King of Tonga
Slide-show accompanying Changing Their Minds.

goEvolving a Theory of Tradition
Paper based on the PhD thesis that ultimately became Changing Their Minds.

goSome Effects of Tradition on Politics
Another paper from the same source.

goNotes on the 2000 Fiji Coup
I was not in a position to write much about Fiji's tumultuous year 2000, but my few notes on the early days of George Speight's attempted coup are collected here.


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