Editorial

Abstract

Welcome to the first issue of The Caribbean Journal of International Relations & Diplomacy of 2014. After a very successful 2013, we go into a new year amidst a wide range of interesting developments, whether in the Caribbean, the wider hemisphere, or globally. Our agenda for the coming months, moreover, reflects this. Between now and early 2016, we are planning to publish special issues that address, firstly, the changing patterns of regional and hemispheric integration in our part of the world, and, secondly, the growing role and importance of China in both the Caribbean and Latin America more broadly. The first of these special issues is perhaps overdue, given the urgent need to better understand new integrationist developments that are taking place, as represented, for example, in the deepening of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the establishment of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) in Latin America, as well as, of course, grappling with the apparent stasis in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The second issue, on China, will be jointly edited with our colleagues at Wuhan University, with whom The University of the West Indies has recently established a joint Caribbean Studies Centre. We will soon be issuing calls for contributions to both.