In Quest of Globalization: Governance Dilemmas and Challenges in Fiji
Fiji, a South Pacific island country, remains ethnically divided between the descendants of Melanesians and the descendants of the indentured labourers brought from India by the British during 1879-1916 to work in sugar plantations. This deeprooted ethnic blend of natives and Indians gives this nation a unique demographic identity vis-a-vis economic reality and globalization challenges. The society is also divided along the income line between an emerging wealthy class and a prevailing working class, leading to income disparity, particularly in the Indian-Fijian community. The current spread of globalization has provoked its State leaders to adopt various governance and economic reform measures, but the quest for globalization has been undermined by its socio-political reality, characterized by fragile democracy, military takeover of power, governance constraints, migration of Indian-Fijian youth and deteriorating traditional culture. Ostensibly, globalization offers Fiji both opportunities and challenges that did not previously exist. The communication revolution, for example, now enables Fiji to invest in call centres to serve South-East Asia, but on the other hand it threatens longestablished trading arrangements for sugar exports under the preferential price arrangement which may disappear over the next few years under the impact of free trade. Although the impact of globalization has visibly enhanced the economic wellbeing to some extent the nation is still struggling to reach a sustainable level of socio-economic and cultural development. In the backdrop of globalization as a policy stimulus, this paper examines the changing political, economic and demographic faces of Fiji, interfaced with globalization. The policy response of Fiji governments in implementing various reform packages is also examined. The paper has also made an attempt to review the NPM-led reform experience in Fiji to argue that a healthy reform climate is a precondition for policy transfer. The findings highlight that when policies are designed by adopting a successful model from outside without considering the implementation challenges including political stability and leadership commitment, major deadlocks may result.
Globalization Governance Democracy Economy Poverty
Mohammad Habibur Rahman Riad Khan Anas Khan
Faculty of Business, Economics and Policy Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Independent Researcher and Writer, Fiji, 679 Academic, New Zealand, 2145
国际会议
2012 International Conference on Public Administration(8th)(2012年公共管理国际会议 ICPA)
印度海德拉巴
英文
737-749
2012-10-25（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）