Failure of political governance in Fiji: Dysfunctional policy and the media.

Failure of political governance is commonplace in Fiji where lack of media freedom, democratic bargaining, political transparency, and accountability has led to political dysfunction and political strife, including military coups, suppression of rights of journalists and media organisations, suspension of freedom of expression, lack of democratic accountability, including draconian media rules and laws that encourage media self-censorship and political oversight over media content. Democratic deficit theory highlights that so-called democratic governments such as Fiji fall short of fulfilling the principles of democracy in their practices and operation because of its history of suppressing media rights, including fundamental freedoms of citizens to express themselves freely. Under such circumstances, Fiji citizens have taken to social media, especially after the 2006 military coup as the future of media freedom remains uncertain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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