ABSTRACT
Only in Fiji and Papua New Guinea has there been a serious challenge to the legitimacy of the political institutions established at independence—in Fiji, to the constitution itself; in Papua New Guinea, to the continued existence within its postindependence borders of a single national state. In Fiji, constitutional government was displaced entirely: for five years Fiji was ruled by self-appointed leaders whose ranks did not include Indians. Two military coups, the suspension of the constitution, and the assault on Indian rights exploded Fiji's somewhat exaggerated reputation as the third world's model multiethnic democracy. The general elections of April 1977 gave warning that Fijian rifts could nullify the safeguards of the electoral system. The 1982 general elections brought Fijian fears closer to the surface. Meanwhile, whatever changes in the Fijian sociopolitical order have been accelerated by Rabuka's challenge to the chiefly system.
