The Fiji Times and the Good Citizen: Constructing Modernity and Nationhood in Fiji

Abstract

Constructing national identity has proved difficult in the Pacific, especially in Fiji where there are significant ethnic divisions. The “People” column in the Fiji Times has provided a populist focus on “good citizens” who have become successful, often in commerce. Such people have demonstrated values and directions such as hard work, training, education, initiative, and cooperation outside the nuclear family. Religious values have assisted, but “tradition” plays no role. Good citizens have achieved social mobility and often transgressed gender, geographical, and ethnic constraints. They constitute part of a new, modern, moral economy and social space that provides the basis for a modern nation where history and ethnicity have limited place.