Suchergebnisse

Samoa became an independent state on 1 January 1962. In moving toward independence, Samoans made it clear that they wanted a political structure that reflected custom and tradition as well as democracy. The post-independence period demonstrated the practical difficulty of reconciling the two. The author examined the co-existence of the two systems of governance. He concludes that, while there has been signficant progress towards democracy (with positive and negative impacts for indigenous institutions, values and practices), it has been restricted by the persistence of customary ideals. The mixing of tradition and democracy is seen as a phase in the process of continuous social and political change, in which practices and values that no longer fit current circumstances are discarded for more relevant and appropriate ones

Sämoa shifted to universal suffrage only in 1990, after 28 years of independent self-government under a system in which only matai (chiefs or family title-holders) were entitled to vote or stand as candidates. During the matai-only franchise era, increas

In the Samoan polity today, the indigenous institution of the matai (chiefs) continues to play a pivotal role in governance. In determining leadership, the fa'asāmoa (Samoan way) and the fa'amatai (way of the chiefs) are the most influential factors. Yet this has not prevented Sāmoa from experiencing governance problems found in other countries of the region, although perhaps on a lesser scale: misunderstanding, frustration, alienation, migration, discrimination, malpractice, patronage, and violence. Reasons for this may be (1) a lack of correspondence between fa'asāmoa and liberal democracy; (2) a lack of general understanding and critical assessment of the principles of liberal democracy in Sāmoa; (3) a combination of misuse, abuse, or misunderstanding of fa'asāmoa; and (4) a lack of publicity and critical assessment of the principles of fa'asāmoa. This paper examines aspects of these four characteristics of the Samoan polity and looks at ways of reassessing governance. It draws on literature that deals with some of the main features of Samoan political thought, as well as on discussions with Samoan scholars and thinkers. This introduction to a different approach to Samoan governance also briefly reviews some of the political forces and tensions at play in Sāmoa to show how they impact current political conceptualization.