When Ethnic Minorities Become National Majorities: Indentured Labor Migration, Ethnic Demographic Reversals, and Postcolonial Nation-Building in Fiji, Guyana, and Trinidad

Olukunle Owolabi, Villanova University

In recent years, the rising levels of ethno-racial, cultural, and religious diversity in Christian-heritage Western societies—partly driven by immigration from the Global South—are often cited as a contributing factor to the rise of political extremism and polarization that threatens well established democratic norms and practices in countries like the United States, France, or Germany (see Mounk 2022; Laitin, Adida, and Valfort 2017). In light of these challenges, this paper examines the diverse political responses to unrestricted South Asian labor migration that fundamentally altered the ethno-racial and religious composition of British colonial states and societies in Fiji, Guyana and Trinidad. The uncontrolled influx of South Asian labor migrants ultimately gave way to ‘ethnic demographic reversals’ in which the indigenous and/or Afro-descendant majorities in these colonial societies, which were predominantly Christian at the beginning of the twentieth century, were ultimately outnumbered by South Asian labor migrants and their descendants during the mid-to-late twentieth century. The paper examines why Trinidad & Tobago was able to maintain its democratic institutions and practices following its ‘ethnic demographic reversal’, whereas Fiji and Guyana experienced ethnic violence, democratic breakdown, and repressive authoritarian regimes following their ethnic demographic reversals. By drawing lessons from these historical cases, this comparative analysis offers insights that inform the ways that contemporary Western democracies manage increased levels of ethnic and cultural diversity that are reinforced by current migration and demographic trends.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 17. Enclosure, Expulsion, and Nation-Making in Cold War Asia