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Fiji's election year of 2022 was nothing short of dramatic and nail-biting, especially at the end. Throughout the year, there were positive changes in COVID-19 regulations, tourism industry numbers, and [...]

The year 2021 saw an extension, if not an escalation, of the main political, economic, and health-related challenges of the previous year, underpinned mostly by the COVID-19 pandemic. in addition, [...]

'Annus Horribilis,' a Latin phrase meaning 'horrible year' used by Queen Elizabeth to describe 1992, is perhaps the most relevant description for 2020 in Fiji and, to a larger extent, [...]

The establishment of the 2013 Constitution by Voreqe Bainimarama's government provided the basis for the 2014 elections and Fiji's return to a parliamentary system after eight long years. In 2018, [...]

Political campaigning on social media in Fiji was first witnessed in the 2014 national election. In the Fiji 2018 general election, social media political campaigning had evolved with greater complexity and a wider variety of implications. This research examines and highlights the use of social media by political parties and candidates in the 2018 national elections. This examination provides comparative social media discussions between the two elections; 2014 and 2018. The research uses digital ethnography as a methodology to examine and highlight social media use, by political parties and candidates in Fiji's 2018 national elections. The research found that FijiFirst, as the ruling government, had a significant advantage in Fiji's social media landscape. However, opposition social media efforts and growing Facebook 'reactions' were beginning to challenge FijiFirst's social media dominance. Keywords: censorship, elections, Facebook, Fiji, politics, social media, voting, Introduction SOCIAL media use in political campaigns and engagement has been wide spread around the globe. Some scholars argue that the impact of social media was initially highlighted through the [...]

Paradise in the Pacific is often rendered as a natural state where "native" people live in simple harmony without the need for government or state institutions. However, Christian traditions also include paradise not simply as a state of innocence but also as a narrative of salvation history in which paradise is lost through original sin and must be restored through sacrifice and repentance. This article takes recent Fijian Christian interpretations of Tropical Cyclone Winston as a key site in which contested ideologies of Paradise are being reworked. As the idyll of island harmony is disrupted by disaster, Christians have seen Winston as an act of divine judgment and punishment on a sinful people. This essay analyzes how narratives of a sinful nation intersect with contemporary formulations of climate change, disaster, politics, and human agency. KEYWORDS: climate change, Christianity, natural disasters, Fiji, paradise, As the people of the Pacific feel the impact of recent superstorms, earthquakes, environmental degradation, and climate change, and as the region is represented by external actors as a place [...]

This article presents an analysis of how social media was used during Tropical Cyclone Winston, the strongest recorded tropical storm that left a wake of destruction and devastation in Fiji during February 2016. Social media is increasingly being used in crises and disasters as an alternative form of communication. Social media use in crisis communication varies according to the context, the disaster and the maturity of social media use. Fiji's experience during TC Winston contributes to the growing literature as it shows how social media was used during each stage of a disaster in a developing country. The article finds that before the cyclone, people used social media to share information about the cyclone and to be informed about the cyclone. During the cyclone, individuals used social media to share their experiences with some citizens capturing the cyclone as it happened and even one citizen live-tweeted her ordeal during the cyclone. Finally, following the cyclone, the hashtag #StrongerThan Winston was coined as a rallying point to bolster a sense of national solidarity. Keywords: crisis response, Cyclone Winston, cyclones, Fiji, disaster communication, Pacific Islands, social media, Introduction This article presents an analysis of social media use in disaster communication during one of the most destructive tropical cyclones to ever be recorded in the world. On 20 [...]

Abstract: This article explores the phenomenon of the use of ICT for climate change activism in the Pacific. Climate change activism in the Pacific is characterised by the use of [...]