An introductory text for students of Caribbean Politics. It provides a broad historical sweep from the slave era to the contemporary period, characterised by issues of structural adjustments and globalisation, and in between, the years of worker revolt and protest. The text is structured and presented around a number of core concepts used to analyse Caribbean politics and political systems.
Author(s): Cynthia Barrow-Giles
Publisher: Ian Randle
Year: 2002
Language: English
Pages: 292
Cover
Contents
Chapter 1 Imperialism: Colonialism, Neo-colonialism and Recolonisation
Introduction
Sovereignty
Imperialism
Colonialism
Race/racism and political systems in the region up to the mid-twentieth century
Neo-colonialism
The politics of structural adjustment: the International Monetary Fund and structural adjustment in the region
The International Monetary Fund, Liberalisation and Jamaica
Structural adjustment: the case of Barbados
Structural adjustment and the trade union movement
The new international economic and political order: contextualising the present order
The North American Free Trade Agreement
Likely effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement on Caribbean countries
Globalisation and cultural imperialism
GATT, the WTO and the Multilateral Agreement on Investment: Recolonisation?
Key words and phrases
Questions to consider
Activities
Readings
Suggestions for further reading
Chapter 2 Struggles of the Working Class People
Introduction
Background to the 1930s political crisis
General labour conditions in the British West Indies
Other dynamics affecting labour conditions in the British West Indies
The Moyne Commission Report
Summary of recommendations from the Moyne Commission Report
A brief assessment of the Moyne Commission Report
The colonial and imperial design for the nationalist movement
Key words and phrases
Questions to consider
Activities
Readings
Suggestions for further reading
Chapter 3 The Politics of Constitutional Decolonisation and the Westminster Model
Introduction
Democracy
Main assumptions of liberal democracy
Participation or imposition?
Constitutional decolonisation in the Commonwealth Caribbean
The Westminster model in the region
Modifications or transformation?
Parliamentary vs presidential systems of government
Key words and phrases
Questions to consider
Activities
Readings
Suggestions for further reading
Chapter 4 Party Systems and Electoral Politics in the Region
Introduction
What is a political party?
Political parties in the Commonwealth Caribbean
Electoral politics in the Commonwealth Caribbean
Summary
Key words and phrases
Questions to consider
Activities
Readings
Suggestions for further reading
Chapter 5 Trade unionism in the Commonwealth Caribbean
Introduction
Origin and development of trade unions
Global changes, international restructuring and Caribbean trade unions
The Caribbean state and labour
Key words and phrases
Questions to consider
Activities
Readings
Suggestions for further reading
Chapter 6 The Politics of Change
Introduction: background to the 1960s and 1970s
Theory of the non-capitalist path to development
Alternative development strategies in the region
Guyana: cooperative socialism
Jamaica: democratic socialism 1974-80
Is socialism a viable option for the region?
Key words and phrases
Questions to consider
Activities
Readings
Suggestions for further reading
Chapter 7 Regional Integration: Economic and Political Aspects
Introduction
Definitions
Imperatives of regional integration
Early beginnings: the West Indian Federation
Distinctive characteristics of a federal system of government
CARICOM and the Treaty of Chaguaramas, 1973
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
The Grand Anse Declaration of 1989
The Manning Initiative of 1993
The CARICOM Single Market and Economy
Association of Caribbean States
The Barbados-OECS Initiative
Regional security and the regional security system
Key words and phrases
Questions to Consider
Activities
Readings
Suggestions for Further Reading
Appendices
Bibliography
