God, Blood, Country: An Ethnographic Study of Christian Institutions and Political Processes in Fiji

This project will examine the role that Christian institutions play in the volatile national political processes of Fiji. It is an ethnographic study of four sites: a national church headquarters; two theological training institutions; and the Fiji Council of Churches offices. In these sites the CI will observe and participate in meetings, classes, workshops, and services to record and analyse discourse about churches' roles in political processes. This project focuses on discourse because these institutions are major sites for the production of ways of thinking that can reshape Fiji by reconfiguring relationships among churches, chiefs, scholars, and political leaders.