Academic Journal Articles by Jope Tarai
Social media ecology in an influencer group, 2024
Social media use in Fiji has expanded in recent years and has become a ubiquitous feature in wide... more Social media use in Fiji has expanded in recent years and has become a ubiquitous feature in wider society. Social media ecology focuses and examines the dimensions of an online environment and its interplay with human experiences in user engagement. These dimensions with human experiences in user engagement can provide an insight into how influential social media groups can become in shaping discourses and views. To examine and discuss the social media ecology of an influencer group, the article details one of Fiji's largest and most influential online groups. To do this, the paper uses digital ethnography, supplemented with social media analytics. This study provides key findings in the social media ecology of influencer groups and online behavior. These findings may have implications for further research in media, citizen journalism, viral content creation and online political campaigning.
Perspectives from Melanesia: Aboriginal relationalism and Australian foreign policy, 2023
The Coral Bell School’s inaugural lecture in Indigenous Diplomacy considers Aboriginal relational... more The Coral Bell School’s inaugural lecture in Indigenous Diplomacy considers Aboriginal relationalism and suggests implications for Australian foreign policy and diplomacy. Revealing a multi-polar and multi-generational lateral political order in Aboriginal cultures, the lecture emphasises the significance of landscapes and individual autonomy intricately woven with group identities that manage and counter rather than institutionalise the survivalist impulses of humans. This response reflects on the lecture from the perspectives of Indigenous Melanesians. We reflect on the strong resonance between Aboriginal relationalism and our own notions of relationality, as well as divergence around our response to what the lecture terms the survivalist impulses of humans. We contemplate what the lecture might offer the emerging field of Indigenous Diplomacy and the broader decolonisation of hegemonic diplomatic practices. Finally, we consider how the Australian state may respond, arguing that embracing reciprocity, respect, and interdependence will improve Australia’s ability to navigate diplomatic relations in the Pacific region, and that honouring Indigenous peoples and cultures must start at home.
How can aid be decolonised and localised in the Pacific? Yielding and wielding power , Jul 19, 2023
Motivation: The colonial legacies of aid and development in the Pacific continues to be at the ce... more Motivation: The colonial legacies of aid and development in the Pacific continues to be at the centre of policy debate. The ideal is to decolonise and localise the practice of aid and development. However, decolonisation and localisation have become highly contested in their definition and proposed practical approaches. We call decolonisation and localisation ‘decolocalisation.’
Purpose: This paper aims to explore perspectives and proposals for decolocalisation in the Pacific Islands.
Methods and approach: We talked to five key informants, all local to their islands, all with much development experience; we held a focus group; and we combined these insights and learnings with our own experience as Pacific Islanders engaged with development. Our analysis is reflexive.
Findings: Development practice in the Pacific Islands typically overvalues expert knowledge and undervalues local knowledge. Most aid and development discourse stressed financial figures, charts and statistical assertions overwhelmingly from a donor perspective; Pacific non-statistical, human and embodied contextual realities are overlooked or discounted. Hierarchies are created that privilege outsiders and discriminate against islanders. A practical operationalisation of decolocalisation can begin with the recognition and practice of outsiders yielding and insiders wielding power.
Policy implications: We recommend decolocalisation as a frame to examine and critique colonial vestiges in Pacific aid and development. Decolocalisation can be practiced by outsiders yielding and insiders wielding power in aid and development
Social media and democracy: The Fiji 2022 National Election , 2023
Since the 2014 Fiji General Election, social media political campaigning has continued to be a co... more Since the 2014 Fiji General Election, social media political campaigning has continued to be a consistent feature in the country's politics. This was evident in the 2022 National Election with many more political parties engaging in creative and innovative ways to campaign and engage voters. Since the 2018 elections, there have been a number of developments that led to the formation of new parties and declining popularity of the ruling FijiFirst party. This has provided a new context for social media political campaigning. Building on reviewed work around social media political campaigning from the 2014 and 2018 national elections, this article examines social media use in the 2022 General Election. It discusses some of the emergent trends and patterns of campaigning that are likely to prevail in social media use and Fiji elections.
Religion and the New Media: Discourses and Debates in the 2018 Fiji General Election Campaign, 2020
This article explores discourses and debates on secularism, religion, and politics in social medi... more This article explores discourses and debates on secularism, religion, and politics in social media in connection with the 2018 Fiji general election campaign, and in interviews with leading figures in churches and religious organisations. It discusses how people responded to these issues. It shows that there is still a pervasive lack of clarity in the Fijian population as to what the terms Christian state, secular state, secularism, and secularisation mean, how people understand, discuss, and debate them, and how this lack of clarity was used politically during the campaign.
Pacific Journalism Review : Te Koakoa, 2019
Political campaigning on social media in Fiji was first witnessed in the 2014 national election. ... more 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 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.
This research explores the contemporary phenomenon of online political campaigning in the 2014 Fi... more This research explores the contemporary phenomenon of online political campaigning in the 2014 Fiji Elections. With increasing Internet and mobile penetration, Fijian citizens, especially youths, have become more Internet savvy. Fiji’s youth represents 47% of Fiji’s voting population and some argue that securing the youth vote may have held the key to winning the 2014 Fiji elections. Candidates therefore had begun employing social media to appeal to the younger demographic. This research examines this emerging new trend by analysing the Facebook pages of candidates and parties vying for a seat in Fiji’s 2014 elections.
The shift to a new Pacific diplomacy, where the Pacific’s agenda is no longer externally driven, ... more The shift to a new Pacific diplomacy, where the Pacific’s agenda is no longer externally driven, but is to an extent led from within the Pacific, can be seen in the case of the negotiation of the South Pacific Tuna Treaty. To demonstrate this shift, this chapter will highlight the factors shaping the inception of the treaty, and those influencing the current negotiations. These include the regional agenda, the Pacific’s leveraging capability, and the influence and roles of the regional institutions. It will highlight the role of the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) at the time the initial treaty was signed in 1987, and the role of the islands only Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) in the contemporary era. This will demonstrate how the new Pacific diplomacy has been instrumental in elevating the Pacific’s negotiating position
Online safety or online regulation? , 2018
It took approximately six seconds, with 27 votes against 14 on the 16 May 2018 at 5:03pm for the... more It took approximately six seconds, with 27 votes against 14 on the 16 May 2018 at 5:03pm for the Fiji Parliament to pass the Online Safety Bill (Fijian Parliament, 2018b). Thereafter, the Bill came into force as the Online Safety Act, 2018 (Fijian Government, 2018), despite concerns about its impact on free speech. This commentary examines how the public was conditioned by certain prominent actors, such as the Attorney-General and Media Industry Development Authority (MIDA) chair, with support from government-aligned media. The Online Safety Bill had been touted as legislation designed to protect Fijians from harmful online activities (Doviverata, 2018; Nacei, 2018). However, the Bill’s implementation was preceded by a set of supportive media-facilitated narratives that seems almost too convenient. This commentary scrutinises the series of media facilitated narratives that justified the Online Safety Act. The discussion briefly examines the connection between the media, blogs and social media in Fiji. It then explores the media facilitated narratives to provide a brief critique of the Act as a so-called ‘Trojan Horse’ for safety while risking responsible political free speech. Finally, it seeks to answer whether it is about online ‘Safety’ alone, or ‘Regulation’ of online media
The politics of online censorship in the Pacific Islands, 2018
In the Pacific, there have been disconcerting news releases of governments making attempts at cen... more In the Pacific, there have been disconcerting news releases of governments making attempts at censoring the internet, a move seen to point towards silencing dissenting views on popular online forums. The conflicting trends between the new political forum ushered in by the new media on the one hand, and the restrictive mode of state censorship on the other hand, pose severe challenges to the broader framework of rights and freedom of expressions. This article aims to examine the regulatory approaches being developed and proposed in response to the emergence of new media in Pacific Island Countries (PICs). This article reviews two ways in which Pacific Island governments are attempting to regulate the internet, firstly through the development of legislation to prosecute cybercriminals, and secondly through the banning of specific internet sites, most notably Facebook. Despite the disparities in internet penetration levels, the article reveals that nearly all countries in the Pacific are increasingly regulating or are moving towards regulating the internet. The justifications for internet regulation and censorship are primarily predicated around the rhetoric of protecting its citizens from the adverse effects of the Internet. However, these regulations seem to be a response to Pacific Island governments' fears of growing criticism and political dissent on social media platforms.
This In Brief seeks to document the proposed plans for curtailing the ‘excesses’ of social media ... more This In Brief seeks to document the proposed plans for curtailing the ‘excesses’ of social media and challenges some of the ongoing claims related to social media. Additionally, it discusses some possible policy considerations for protecting freedom of speech in social media in Fiji and the wider Pacific.
Fiji Flag Change: Social Media Responds, 2015
The Inbrief assess the early social media responses towards the proposed Fiji flag change. It als... more The Inbrief assess the early social media responses towards the proposed Fiji flag change. It also highlights the increasing significance of social media in civic engagement and participation, while documenting the Fijian Government's ambivalence towards public responses.
Pacific Journalism Review : Te Koakoa
Political campaigning on social media in Fiji was first witnessed in the 2014 national election. ... more 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 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.
Anthropological Forum A Journal of Social Anthropology and Comparative Sociology, 2020
International practices of disaster preparedness presume human agency, particularly at the househ... more International practices of disaster preparedness presume human agency, particularly at the household level, as an important preemptive response to anticipated natural hazards. Our analysis of Fijian responses to Tropical Cyclone Winston indicates that preparedness is also regarded as important by cyclone survivors but has a moral dimension that can be used to assign blame to underprepared members of the community. However, Fijian villagers’ experiences of terror and awe during Tropical Cyclone Winston also make them aware of the limits of human agency, prompting them to reflect on God’s role in the cyclone and the need for collective repentance and renewed Christian commitment. The effectiveness of disaster preparedness and climate change adaptation efforts can only be enhanced by a better understanding of the values of affected communities, including religious and spiritual values. We seek to contribute to this knowledge by showing how disaster preparedness both converges with and diverges from Fijian Christian practices.
In the Pacific, there have been disconcerting news releases of governments making attempts at cen... more In the Pacific, there have been disconcerting news releases of governments making attempts at censoring the internet, a move seen to point towards silencing dissenting views on popular online forums. The conflicting trends between the new political forum ushered in by the new media on the one hand, and the restrictive mode of state censorship on the other hand, pose severe challenges to the broader framework of rights and freedom of expressions. This article aims to examine the regulatory approaches being developed and proposed in response to the emergence of new media in Pacific Island Countries (PICs). This article reviews two ways in which Pacific Island governments are attempting to regulate the internet, firstly through the development of legislation to prosecute cybercriminals, and secondly through the banning of specific internet sites, most notably Facebook. Despite the disparities in internet penetration levels, the article reveals that nearly all countries in the Pacific are increasingly regulating or are moving towards regulating the internet. The justifications for internet regulation and censorship are primarily predicated around the rhetoric of protecting its citizens from the adverse effects of the Internet. However, these regulations seem to be a response to Pacific Island governments' fears of growing criticism and political dissent on social media platforms.
Anthropological Forum
International practices of disaster preparedness presume human agency, particularly at the househ... more International practices of disaster preparedness presume human agency, particularly at the household level, as an important preemptive response to anticipated natural hazards. Our analysis of Fijian responses to Tropical Cyclone Winston indicates that preparedness is also regarded as important by cyclone survivors but has a moral dimension that can be used to assign blame to underprepared members of the community. However, Fijian villagers’ experiences of terror and awe during Tropical Cyclone Winston also make them aware of the limits of human agency, prompting them to reflect on God’s role in the cyclone and the need for collective repentance and renewed Christian commitment. The effectiveness of disaster preparedness and climate change adaptation efforts can only be enhanced by a better understanding of the values of affected communities, including religious and spiritual values. We seek to contribute to this knowledge by showing how disaster preparedness both converges with and diverges from Fijian Christian practices.
The Contemporary Pacific, 2018
Paradise in the Pacific is often rendered as a natural condition where ‘native’ people live in si... more Paradise in the Pacific is often rendered as a natural condition 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 as a narrative of salvation history where Paradise is lost through sin and must be restored through sacrifice and repentance. This paper takes recent Fijian Christian interpretations of Tropical Cyclone Winston as a key site where 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 judgement and punishment on a sinful people. This paper analyses how narratives of a sinful nation intersect with contemporary formulations of climate change, disaster, politics and human agency.
Social media has become a crucial feature of the Pacific islands in the 21st century, providing p... more Social media has become a crucial feature of the Pacific islands in the 21st century, providing people with the means to demand greater accountability and transparency and offering an alternative platform through which to engage in policy processes, dialogue, and debate. Increasing social media access and use has altered the existing media and communications landscape , with implications for mainstream media reporting, censorship, and citizen voice. This paper explores this phenomenon through an examination of the digital activism practices of a group of women's rights activists in Fiji. In doing so, this paper explores how social media is being used as an online platform for information dissemination and debate, as well as the implications this is having " offline " as part of efforts to influence policymaking.
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Academic Journal Articles by Jope Tarai
Purpose: This paper aims to explore perspectives and proposals for decolocalisation in the Pacific Islands.
Methods and approach: We talked to five key informants, all local to their islands, all with much development experience; we held a focus group; and we combined these insights and learnings with our own experience as Pacific Islanders engaged with development. Our analysis is reflexive.
Findings: Development practice in the Pacific Islands typically overvalues expert knowledge and undervalues local knowledge. Most aid and development discourse stressed financial figures, charts and statistical assertions overwhelmingly from a donor perspective; Pacific non-statistical, human and embodied contextual realities are overlooked or discounted. Hierarchies are created that privilege outsiders and discriminate against islanders. A practical operationalisation of decolocalisation can begin with the recognition and practice of outsiders yielding and insiders wielding power.
Policy implications: We recommend decolocalisation as a frame to examine and critique colonial vestiges in Pacific aid and development. Decolocalisation can be practiced by outsiders yielding and insiders wielding power in aid and development
Purpose: This paper aims to explore perspectives and proposals for decolocalisation in the Pacific Islands.
Methods and approach: We talked to five key informants, all local to their islands, all with much development experience; we held a focus group; and we combined these insights and learnings with our own experience as Pacific Islanders engaged with development. Our analysis is reflexive.
Findings: Development practice in the Pacific Islands typically overvalues expert knowledge and undervalues local knowledge. Most aid and development discourse stressed financial figures, charts and statistical assertions overwhelmingly from a donor perspective; Pacific non-statistical, human and embodied contextual realities are overlooked or discounted. Hierarchies are created that privilege outsiders and discriminate against islanders. A practical operationalisation of decolocalisation can begin with the recognition and practice of outsiders yielding and insiders wielding power.
Policy implications: We recommend decolocalisation as a frame to examine and critique colonial vestiges in Pacific aid and development. Decolocalisation can be practiced by outsiders yielding and insiders wielding power in aid and development
This piece is a submission made to the GCC review committee, which declares the author's relational positionality, while offering ideas for the possible roles of the GCC, its composition and possible funding sources.
Within the submission is the introduction of an overarching frame of progressive indigenous Fijian identity, otherwise termed as pro-Fijianeity. The conceptual frame is derived from the recent developments within the Vanua and the communities where indigenous Fijian values are being used to promote and unify the two major ethnic communities in Fiji.
The piece ultimately argues that the GCC could position itself for reform through pro-Fijianeity in a progressive and inclusive form of nation-building, which encompasses Fijians of all backgrounds. In addition, there's an overwhelming need for the GCC to refocus it's attention and efforts towards its people, rather than its once held pre-occupation with power. The dynamic and responsibility is captured in the quote by the late Roko Tui Bau, Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi - "Turaga na Turaga ni Tamata, Tamata na Tamata ni Turaga" - "Chiefs are chiefs of the people and the people are people of the chiefs"
Commentary on these examples has focussed on the evolution of social media as a comparatively democratic space for communication, information and dissent, in the wake of continued restrictions on freedom of expression and a prevailing culture of self-censorship within the nation’s mainstream media institutions.
However, there has been little interrogation of the everyday practices of social media use by activists in Fiji, and the implications of this both online and offline.
Recent research by the Developmental Leadership Program (DLP), in partnership with researchers at the University of the South Pacific, seeks to respond to this gap. It explores how young feminists and women’s rights activists in Fiji are using digital technologies such as social media as part of their advocacy and activist practice.
In-depth focus groups conducted with 22 young women’s rights activists in Fiji over the course of 2016 revealed the myriad ways in which social media shapes their experiences as feminists and activists.