The politics of preferential development : trans-global study of affirmative action and ethnic conflict in Fiji, Malaysia and South Africa / Steven Ratuva
1. Affirmative action and trans-global study -- 2. Proto-affirmative action: Indigenous Fijian development from cession to independence -- 3. Politicized affirmative action: Independence in 1970 to the 1987 military coup -- 4. The 1987 military coup: Affirmative action by the gun -- 5. Social engineering: Attempts to create an Indigenous entrepreneurial class -- 6. Appeasement, scams and tension: Affirmative action programs, 1999 to 2006 -- 7. Post-2006 coup affirmative action: Development at gunpoint -- 8. Ethnicity, reform and affirmative action in Malaysia -- 9. "Black empowerment" policies: Dilemmas of affirmative action in South Africa --10. Trans-global affirmative action: Some critical lessons
Summary
The book is a critical examination of affirmative action, a form of preferential development often used to address the situation of disadvantaged groups. It uses a trans-global approach, as opposed to the comparative approach, to examine the relationship between affirmative action, ethnic conflict and the role of the state in Fiji, Malaysia and South Africa. While affirmative action has noble goals, there are often intervening political and ideological factors in the form of ethno-nationalism and elite interests, amongst others, which potentially undermine fair distribution of affirmative action resources. The book examines the affirmative action philosophies and programs of the three countries and raises pertinent questions about whether affirmative action has led to equality, social justice, harmony and political stability and explores future possibilities
