The evolution of public administration and conflict in a post-conflict state : history’s role in Fiji’s political trajectory : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
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2024-04-16
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Massey University
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Abstract
Violent geo-political conflicts are on the rise across the globe and most of the countries that experience these conflicts are developing nations like Fiji (Fund for Peace, 2022). Countries that are prone to conflict are classified as fragile States. In the aftermath of a conflict, the public sector is under immense pressure to restabilise the nation and normalise service provision to citizens. Understanding the behaviour of conflict and public administration in a post-conflict State is key for nation rebuilding because it gives an insight into the levers and impediments for crisis management. Although studies have explored crisis management in post-conflict States (Kaplan, 2008), little is known about the role that historical institutions play in the evolution and continuity of conflict and public administration. To address this gap, this thesis used the path dependency theory to explain how policy actions and decisions established a continuous cycle of conflict. Using institutionalism and resilience, this research described why public administration remained fragile despite showing signs of evolution in Fiji’s political trajectory. Based on the findings, it is suggested that policy actors in Fiji consider the following embedded ideologies in their policy making process: race-based politics, intertwined traditional and political roles, adversarial approaches to the protection of interests and segmented economic structures. Fiji is locked into a path of conflict and resilience is restrained by institutionalised processes; an understanding of historical structures that hinder progress can help policy actors create effective public policies.
The first significant finding argued that conflict is pathdependent because Fiji was subjected to indirect rule when it was under colonial rule and that the short time taken for the nation to transition from a colony to an independent State created a lack of readiness for self-government. Public administration stability in Fiji was hindered by the co-existence of institutionalism and resilience. It was found that resilience thinking was stifled by institutionalised ideologies that had become embedded in the public administration system. This research made two key contributions: developed a theoretical understanding of public administration and conflict using the path-dependency, institutionalism, and resilience theories. The lessons learned to contribute to policy knowledge on crisis management and nation rebuilding in developing countries like Fiji.
This research was conducted using archival research, which was collected from Archives New Zealand and the National Archives of Fiji. Archival research and document analysis complemented the path-dependency, institutionalism, and resilience theories, which involve a descriptive analysis of how past policy decisions affect the behaviour of institutions. In total, 3,270 documents from the years 1858 to 1992 were retrieved and analysed via document analysis and theoretical thematic analysis. Using archival research to study Fiji’s political history aided the identification of themes that explained how and when conflict became path dependent, and why public administration institutions were fragile.
The findings from this thesis are contextual and Fiji is a small island developing State so it would be difficult to generalise or replicate. To add to the knowledge of conflict analysis, and nation rebuilding, future research could explore other post-conflict States or former colonies to find out if conflict is path-dependent and which factors create fragility in a public administration. The co-existence of institutionalism and resilience also has room for further development. There is an opportunity to explore the behaviour of these two theoretical frameworks in public administration. A deeper understanding of the push and pull effects of institutionalism and resilience has the potential to improve public sector reform and policy transfer processes.
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Public administration, Conflict management, Postwar reconstruction, Civil war, Fiji, History, Archival resources, public sector management, management history