Since 1966 Robert Norton’s major area of research has been ethnicity and politics in Fiji. His PhD thesis, Politics, race and society in Fiji, was submitted at Sydney University in 1972. His book, Race and Politics in Fiji, was published by the University of Queensland Press in 1977 and a revised second edition was published in 1990. He was appointed as one of the foundation members of staff in the Department of Anthropology at Macquarie University in 1969. He continued to be a consistent observer and respected commentator on Fiji politics throughout his academic career, writing many essays and articles on politics in Fiji in scholarly journals and books.