Ronald Sanders

The growing vulnerability of small states

Small states are in a worse position today than they were in 1985 when the Commonwealth produced a study of their vulnerability. International terms of trade have badly affected their economies and guaranteed markets and preferential prices for their principal exports are being eroded. Caribbean small states are being pressured by the United States to enter into treaty arrangements undermining their sovereignty. Appeals to international organizations are futile since these organizations themselves have been severely weakened. New developments such as drug trafficking, money laundering and an increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters make Caribbean small states more vulnerable than in the past. Consequently, the capacity of small states to adequately serve the needs of their communities has been weakened. There is an urgent need for small states to form an alliance in every international forum. The worlds richer nations also need to take action on trade, debt relief and the provision of...

Crime in the Caribbean: An overwhelming phenomenon

Crime in the member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is fast becoming an overwhelming phenomenon beyond the capacity of the individual national police forces to cope with. Drug trafficking has spawned much of this crime which includes murders, aggravated burglary and, in some cases, kidnapping. There is little doubt that the structures and networks of criminal activity have developed with the collusion of persons in the public and private sectors and have probably infiltrated officers in the police forces themselves. The present rate of increase in crime parallels a downturn in the economies of the region occasioned by their loss of preferential markets in the European Union for their major commodities, a decline in tourism, an increase in unemployment and a drop in the real value of earnings. CARICOM states are in danger of being overrun by criminal activity in the decade ahead unless the problem is addressed urgently and comprehensively. The international community--particularly the countries whose demand for illegal narcotics has contributed significantly to the development of the Caribbean as a transhipment centre--has failed to help the region implement policies to control and prevent crime. Indeed, there is evidence that they have been withdrawing support from the area. There is an urgent need for the early convening of a limited international conference on crime in the Caribbean to mobilize resources to help CARICOM states deal effectively with the overwhelming problem of crime. The alternative is the constant erosion of the economic, social and political stability of the region and an escalation of transnational crime with all the dire consequences this may hold for the security of the wider global community.

Venezuela in the caribbean: expanding its sphere of influence

Abstract In the wake of deteriorating relations between the government of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and the administration of George W. Bush in the USA, Venezuela has sought to expand its influence into Commonwealth Caribbean countries by offering a loan scheme for oil payments. Caricom countries account for almost half the votes in the Organization of American states and the Latin American and Caribbean Group in UN bodies. President Chavez has called on the Caribbean to join a ‘sea of resistance’ against US imperialism as part of his programme of 21st century socialism and rejection of the US initiative for a Free Trade Area of the Americas. The USA had written to Caricom countries warning them against a relationship with Chavez and accusing him of threatening democracy. This article analyses the traditional relationship between Caricom and the USA, on the one hand, and the new relationship with Venezuela, on the other, and argues that the Caricom countries, small though they are, will act in their own interests.

The Commonwealth after Edinburgh

After the Commonwealth Summit in Edinburgh the Commonwealth is stronger in many respects. Among the contributing factors to its strength is the re‐commitment to it by the government of the United Kingdom. Edinburgh also set down a marker that the Commonwealth will become increasingly more concerned with economic problems that confront the international community. But, the jury is still out on the Commonwealths political credibility. If Nigeria continues to flout Commonwealth principles, the association must act by 1 October 1998 to expel it and to impose sanctions against it. The Commonwealth remains a broad‐based coalition of countries that can help the world to negotiate global issues, but the association must become more tightly focused and the Secretariat must be provided with resources. And, as Her Majesty the Queens successor as Head of the Commonwealth, Prince Charles should now show a heightened interest in Commonwealth countries and Commonwealth matters.

Caribbean Secession—Disruptive but Not Definitive

Throughout history, communities which have been separated by religion, ethnicity and distance (most especially water), have experienced secessionist movements. Such movements are now current in relations between Catalonia and Spain, Scotland and the United Kingdom, and to a lesser extent Barbuda and Antigua. While separatist groups raise their voices loudest and receive the most media attention, support for them amongst their own communities is never unanimous. There are many who doubt the wisdom of separation in economic and security terms. A referendum on Scottish independence in 2014 failed to secure a majority vote and, after the hype surrounding a controversial independence referendum in Catalonia on 1 October 2017, a Metroscopia poll seven weeks later revealed that 71 per cent of the Catalonians polled would prefer politicians to find an agreement based on Catalonia staying part of Spain. The Caribbean has had its fair share of secessionist movements—always from the smaller islands that form a single state with larger ones. Anguilla broke away from St Kitts-Nevis in 1971 during the British colonial era; Tobago agitated for years for secession from Trinidad; in 1998, Nevis attempted a constitutional split from St Kitts; and on Barbuda, a separatist group has been expressing the desire to secede from Antigua even prior to the formation of Antigua and Barbuda as an independent, unitary state in 1981. In each case, the secessionists claimed ‘distinct communities’, expressed their dissatisfaction with being governed from ‘another island’, and demanded more autonomy even though objective analysis showed that the tiny islands could not pay for themselves. For example, Tobago’s share of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Trinidad and Tobago is 1.9 per cent and the local government depends on the Central government for subventions to provide goods and services to the population. In Barbuda’s case, it contributes less than 1 per cent of the GDP of Antigua and Barbuda and the local government is entirely dependent for all its financing on the Central government. Over the years, the secessionist movement on Nevis has subsided, particularly because the present government of St Kitts-Nevis is constituted by a coalition of several parties including the major political party on Nevis. But, the separatist tendency remains and could erupt again if a purely St Kitts-based political party is elected as the Central government. In the case of Tobago, separatist inclinations have all but died due to two reasons: two of the six Prime Ministers of Trinidad and Tobago have come from Tobago, and local government legislation has given Tobago autonomy over much of its affairs. A new Bill to give even

The commonwealth must not wake up feeling terrible

As the Millennium approaches, the future of the Commonwealth will depend on how it responds to four main issues—its role in relation to small states, its readiness to discipline wrong‐doing in member countries; the criteria for expansion of its membership; and the strengthening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The Commonwealth must continue to help its smaller member states with bread‐and‐butter issues to enable them to retain national autonomy and maintain the welfare of their peoples. The extension of the remit of the Ministerial Action Group set up after the execution of Ken Saro‐Wiwa in Nigeria from its present focus on three Commonwealth military regimes to other governments seriously and persistently violating the principles of the Harare Declaration is essential to the credibility of the Commonwealth. The potential loss of the shared foundation of the Commonwealth by the admission of member states which lack the common legal and administrative processes, educational background and t...