Conflict, peace and development in the Caribbean /

A wide array of excellent papers on development and international politics in the Caribbean. The book contains 11 chapters, each written by scholars, that treat a broad range of issues and topics. The contributions stem from a 1988 international conference in Jamaica that focused on security, diplomacy, and development in the Caribbean. The authors seek to interrelate poverty and development with military interventionism, militarism, revolution, and authoritarianism, seeking alternative patterns of foreign relations and developmental practices that can evade these ills that chronically infect nations in the region. The essays are grouped in three parts. Part 1 treats Caribbean politics and development from a global perspective, and contains three chapters that analyze peace and security (especially the US role), the place of US hegemony, and the role of Cuba. Part 2 looks at internal conditions of Caribbean nations and provides five excellent case studies that emphasize militarization and authoritarian politics and underscore the relationship of peace to development and how this may affect democratic development. Part 3 provides three essays that compare alternative strategies of development and diplomacy to encourage peace in the Caribbean. The work contains several bibliographies for further reading and a helpful index. An excellent addition to any academic library.-A. R. Brunello, Eckerd College