Without participating in peacekeeping missions overseas, it is unlikely that Fiji's army would ever have become strong enough to seize power.

So says the Economist: "When the British left Fiji in 1970, there were only around 200 serving military personnel. UN peacekeeping operations in Lebanon and Sinai generated a tenfold increase by 1986. The next year, Fiji witnessed its first military coup." The series of coups since then haven't stopped Fiji from continuing to participate in UN missions. Via The Informed Reader.