Towards an Association of Caribbean States: Raising Some Awkward Questions

Despite its manifest heterogeneity—linguistic, ethnic and political—and the significant imbalances between nations, the Caribbean Basin has gradually come to be viewed as a distinctive subregion within the Western Hemisphere. This process began during the Cold War when a number of extraregional actors with interests in the region considered it of strategic importance. As in previous phases of its history, the Caribbean found itself defined geopolitically, not only in terms of its potential for conflict but for its significance to external (North American or European) actors as well (Serbín, 1989 and 1991a). More recently, changes on the international scene (the end of the Cold War and recognition of the increasing interdependence of the world economy) have begun to alter these old perceptions and ways of dealing with the region.