The Politics of Integration: Caribbean Sovereignty Revisited

In The Politics of Integration, Terri-Ann Gilbert-Roberts examines the validity of a highly charged statement Dr Ralph Gonsalves made in 2007, warning that CARICOM may expire in 2017 if its government structures are not addressed. To this end, the author examines the political culture, personalities and the quest for sovereignty in the Caribbean that have allowed CARICOM to falter in its efforts to establish a fully functional regional framework that would benefit its members and move the region forward. Although recognizing that the attempts at establishing such a framework seem as improbable now as it has been in the past, Gilbert-Roberts concludes that CARICOM’s collapse is not inevitable and highlights the potential for a renewal of the regional development process.

Terry-Ann Gilbert Roberts is a Research Fellow of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, University of the West Indies Mona.