Foreign Influence, Political Conflicts and Conflict Resolution in the Caribbean

This article focuses on the interconnection between international factors and domestic political conflicts in the Third World context, with specific reference to Caribbean countries. Theories suggesting either no correlation or a direct linear linkage between international and domestic conflicts are criticized. It is posited that (a) the linkage between international pressures and domestic political conflicts is usually mediated by domestic class forces, particularly the contentious role of the middle classes, which invariably control Caribbean states, (b) these middle-class controlled states usually display a preference for the more authoritarian approaches to conflict resolution; (c) states subjected to the most destabilizing international pressures, such as the ideologically deviant (or pro-socialist) states, tend to display the more intensive levels of both political conflicts and repressive force; and (d) these conflict patterns harbour largely negative implications for democratic developments in the region. It is suggested, further, that approaches to conflict resolution should involve institutionalized changes which foster the more direct, democratic inclusion of the subordinate classes in the political decision-working process. Supportive data and evidence are drawn from periodical news reports and other documentary archival sources pertaining to the English-speaking Caribbean during the post-colonial period.