Uneven development in Fiji: a critical approach to the core-periphery paradigm

The penetration of the Fijian islands by Anglo-Australian capitalism laid the foundations for an externally orientated and internally unequal and dependent .form of development. After contact with capitalism, and particularly after the establishment of colonial rule, the process of economic integration was dominated by the invading forces. Consequently, the modification of the village mode of production, and its subsequent marginalization, was not the result of self development processes in the periphery, as defined sectorally and spatially, but was determined by the dominant mode of the overall system. The resulting colonial pattern of a polarized economy remained largely unmodified after independence. Significant in the pattern of unevenness is the correlation between low level of economic welfare and the concentration of the village mode of production. In order to operate more easily within the inherited core-periphery structure, the Fijian village sector evolved various responses to its marginal position. The responses are part of a process of change, in which the production system is preserved in its generally communal form in one area, while causing a distinctive change towards individualism in another. This has been primarily brought about by a practice of selective involvement of the state. The discussion and analysis of the pattern of uneven development in Fiji is largely based on the core-periphery concept as developed within the dependency perspective. The analysis involves a critical evaluation of this concept by incorporating some of the main issues raised by the articulation of modes of production perspective. In addition, considerations is given to physical and environmental conditions ; often a neglected issue in development studies within radical geography. Hence, within the core-periphery paradigm, the explanation of dependency conditions in the Fijian periphery is wanting and some complementary explanation is sought. The analytical consequence thus is a call for the development of an approach combining major issues from the different perspectives in development studies