Crisis and Promise in the Caribbean ─ Politics and Convergence

The Caribbean is made up of a complex, enigmatic region, characterised by great disparities in size, population, geography, history, language, religion, race and politics. This is a region in which harmony and discord work in tandem, trying to link economic logic with political logic. This book is a useful tool not only for those specialists and students of regionalism but for all those putting their hands to the task of nation-building and those interested in the development processes of small states and economies. At the same time, this book is a comprehensive historical record especially highlighting hindrances to development in this region. This study raises two important issues: the a€?political imperative of convergencea€? and the need for a€?appropriate correcting mechanismsa€? that align the needs of the local with the regional. It is a volume that underlines the need for a change in strategy and makes proposals as to how to go about making those changes.

Economist, Academic, Politician, Winston Dookeran is the current Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and has had a distinguished career holding several important positions in his country, including Minister of Finance and Governor of the Central Bank, and outside, as a member of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank. He has written several articles and books on Caribbean development and politics, and is the founding leader of The Congress of the People - a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. Educated at Naparima College in San Fernando, Trinidad, the University of Manitoba in Canada, and the London School of Economics and Political Science in the UK, Mr. Dookeran has been a lecturer at The University of the West Indies and a Visiting Scholar at the Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs, Harvard University, USA and at the United Nations University in Helsinki, Finland.