Editorial: The Caribbean Amidst New Regional and Global Dynamics

Abstract

It is often remarked that Caribbean regionalism is in an acute state of crisis. Recent developments, not least the lack of purposeful forward momentum in the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) which has been officially 'paused' since 2011, only give credence to such pessimistic assessments. Yet the perception of crisis is not new: since the 1980s, observers of integration in general - and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in particular - have continually warned that the region is facing its gravest situation yet. Consequently, if we recognise that, rather than progress, it is actually an all-pervading sense of crisis that has characterised the regional integration movement for decades now, we should perhaps begin to consider this the norm, rather than the exception, and progress as something that is, by contrast, actually extraordinary. By doing so, we might also have to dramatically temper our expectations regarding the limits of the possible.