Fiji is a nation divided between two ethnic groups, i.e., Indigenous Fijians and Indo- (i.e.,
Indian) Fijians, which are almost equal in size. In 2000, a coup has been attempted by
Indigenous Fijians to overthrow the Indo-Fijian led government. In this study, which was
conducted prior to the attempted coup, the empirical relations between several psychological
and sociological variables and ethnic supremacy aspirations in Fiji were investigated using a
sample of 159 Indigenous Fijians and 177 Indo-Fijians. Strong differences between the two
ethnic groups emerged. Indigenous Fijians’ ethnic supremacy aspirations are stronger than
those of Indo-Fijians. Furthermore, Indigenous Fijians have a stronger social identity, ingroup
identification, and are more collectivistic than Indo-Fijians. Indo-Fijians have a much
higher perceived socio-economic status than Indigenous Fijians. The strongest predictor of
ethnic supremacy aspirations in the complete sample is social distance between individuals in
the two ethnic groups, followed by perceived socio-economic status, collectivism, in-group
identification, and social identity. The variables used in the study explained 40% of the
variance in ethnic supremacy aspirations in the complete sample, 32% in the Indigenous Fijian
sample, and 27% in the Indo-Fijian sample. The implications of the findings for ethnic
cohabitation in Fiji and the role of government in handling ethnic conflicts are discussed. r
2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.