The aim of the thesis is to understand the Fijian land issue and relate it to the
ethnical tensions that dominate the society. To theoretically understand the
problem, Horowitz’s theoretical tools are used together with Fijian scholar work,
such as Ratuva’s assessment on the Fijian understanding of land. Out in the field,
material was gathered to enlighten the situation on a micro perspective through
interviewing legally non-acknowledged settlers. The studied settlers’ situation is
put in relation to the land policy and the ethnical tensions. This task was, due to
the political situation in Fiji, completed through the gathering and analyzing of
materials taken mainly from official sources on the Internet.
The interviewed settlers’ situation is a consequence of the land policy, which
in turn is a result of the ethnical tensions, owning much to the historical colonial
administration. The conflicting groups’ views of today are clearly diverging, since
the ethnical groups in Fiji are unranked and under the influence of the centrifugal
force. None of the political attempts to solve the land crisis have been clearly
beneficial. However, all parties now agree that the land must be utilized more
efficiently, which will require the involvement of both ethnical groups.