Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to examine the extent to which the political structure and systems in two countries of the Commonwealth Caribbean, namely Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana allow for the inclusivity of the different societal groups. To a large extent, the article argues that the two-party system which prevails in these countries even with different models of governments (in the case of Trinidad and Tobago, a Parliamentary system of Government and in the case of Guyana, a Presidential system of government) have promoted or enhanced arrangements in which the governing party supports a specific group and excludes other groups. It suggests that in order to allow for inclusivity by groups, including ethnic groups, there is a need to re-examine the political structures and perhaps allow for a quota-like arrangement which obtains in Fiji.
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Notes
- 1.
M. Duverger. 1963. Political parties: Their organisation and activity in the modern state. New York: Wiley.
- 2.
Clifford Geertz. 1963. “The integrative revolution, primordial sentiments, and civil politics in the new states.” In Old societies and new states: The quest for modernity in Asia and Africa, edited by Clifford Geerts. New York.
- 3.
Seymour Martin Lipset and Stein Rokkan. 1967. “Cleavage structures, party systems, and voter alignments: An introduction,” pp. 1–64. In Party systems and voter alignments: Cross-national perspectives, edited by Seymour Martin Lipset and Stein Rokkan. New York: Free Press.
- 4.
Fredrik Bart, ed. 1969. Ethnic groups and boundaries. Boston: Little, Brown.
- 5.
Arend Lijphart. 1977. “Political theories and the explanation of ethnic conflict in western world: Falsified predictions and plausible postdictions,” pp. 46–64. In Ethnic conflict in the western world, edited by Milton Esman. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
- 6.
Donald L. Horowitz 1985. Ethnic groups in conflict. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- 7.
Brass, Paul R. 1991. Ethnicity and nationalism: Theory and comparison. New Delhi: Sage.
- 8.
Shaheen Mozaffar, James R. Scarritt, and Glen Galaich. 2003. “Electoral institutions, ethnopolitical cleavages, and party systems in Africa’s emerging democracies.” The American Political Science Review, Vol. 97, No. 3: 379–390.
- 9.
Andres Felipe Torres. 2007, Spring. Electoral systems and ethnic identity: A constructivist approach. Department of Politics, New York University, Senior Honours Thesis.
- 10.
J. E. Greene. 1974. Race vs politics in Guyana: Political cleavages and political mobilisation in the 1968 general election. Kingston, Jamaica: Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of the West Indies.
- 11.
- 12.
Guyana achieved independence in 1966, the then Government stated a desire to become a socialist republic. Then in 1973, there was a change in the constitution, creating an executive president, removal of the vestiges of colonial rule such as the British Monarch as the head of state and the formal creation of the socialist state known as the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. The republican status, and the socialist goal both became enshrined in the name. In the case of Trinidad and Tobago, the country assumed republican status in 1976 in which framed laws and structures allow for the governance of the country.
- 13.
Nakeba Stewart. 2004. “Race and colour in Trinidad and Tobago.” Trinidad and Tobago News Forum. http://www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/forum/webs_config.pl?md=read;id=1467.
- 14.
For instance, organisations included the League of Coloured Peoples, the East Indian Association, the Chinese Association and the Portuguese Club.
- 15.
For more on this, see Guyana under Siege. A History of Political Alliances in Guyana 1953–1977 by Hazel Woodford. http://www.guyanaundersiege.com/Historical/Political%20Alliances.htm.
- 16.
The Suspension of the British Guiana Constitution—1953 (Declassified British documents) Editor—Dr. Odeen Ishmael GNI Publications—2004 © Odeen Ishmael http://www.guyana.org/govt/declassified_british_documents_1953.html.
- 17.
Steven Fish and Robin S. Brooks. 2004. “Does diversity hurt democracy?” Journal of Democracy, Vol. 15, No. 1: 153–167.
- 18.
Telegram from Foreign Office to the British Ambassador in Washington (4 January 1962) Secret Amended Distribution—12 January 1962 Outward Saving Telegram from Foreign Office to Washington by Bag Foreign Office and Whitehall Distribution No. 61 Saving 4 January 1962.
- 19.
Draft brief prepared by British colonial office (undated but prepared in December, 1961) Secret Draft Brief for Prime Minister’s visit to Bermuda–Anglo-US approach to the Caribbean Area. Declassified Documents on British Guiana (Extracted from Foreign relations of the USA 1961–1963, Volume XII—American republics. This volume was prepared by the US Department of State, Office of Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs and printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1966.
- 20.
Donald L. Horowitz. 2000. Ethnic groups in conflict. London, UK: University of California Press.
- 21.
J. Hagan. 1987. “Regimes, political opposition, and the comparative analysis of foreign policy,” pp. 345–346. In New directions in the study of foreign policy, edited by Charles Hermann et al. Boston: Allen & Unwin.
- 22.
- 23.
- 24.
- 25.
Kate Quinn. 2015. “Introduction: Revisiting Westminster in the Caribbean.” Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1: 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/14662043.2014.993146.
- 26.
For a more in-depth discussion on the politics of Trinidad and Tobago see my book Ethnic conflict in developing societies: Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Fiji and Suriname. Palgrave Macmillan, 2017.
- 27.
The NAR attained 380,029 votes or 66.3% of the total votes cast.
References
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Brass, P. R. (1991). Ethnicity and nationalism: Theory and comparison. New Delhi: Sage.
Duverger, M. (1963). Political parties: Their organisation and activity in the modern state. New York: Wiley.
Fish, S., & Brooks, R. S. (2004). Does diversity hurt democracy? Journal of Democracy, 15(1), 153–167.
Geertz, C. (1963). The integrative revolution, primordial sentiments, and civil politics in the new states. In C. Geertz (Ed.), Old societies and new states: The quest for modernity in Asia and Africa. New York: Free Press.
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Horowitz, D. L. (1985). Ethnic groups in conflict. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Lijphart, A. (1977). Political theories and the explanation of ethnic conflict in western world: Falsified predictions and plausible postdictions. In M. Esman (Ed.), Ethnic conflict in thewestern world (pp. 46–64). Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Lipset, S. M., & Rokkan, S. (1967). Cleavage structures, party systems, and voter alignments: An introduction. In S. M. Lipset & S. Rokkan (Eds.), Party systems and voter alignments: Cross-national perspectives (pp. 1–64). New York: Free Press.
Mozaffar, S., Scarritt, J. R., & Galaich, G. (2003). Electoral institutions, ethnopolitical cleavages, and party systems in Africa’s emerging democracies. The American Political Science Review, 97(3), 379–390.
Quinn, K. (2015). Introduction: Revisiting Westminster in the Caribbea. Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, 53(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/14662043.2014.993146.
Stewart, N. (2004). Race and colour in Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago News Forum. http://www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/forum/webs_config.pl?md=read;id=1467.
Torres, A. F. (2007, Spring). Electoral systems and ethnic identity: A constructivist approach (Senior Honours Thesis). Department of Politics, New York University.
Woodford, H. A history of political alliances in Guyana 1953–1977. http://www.guyanaundersiege.com/Historical/Political%20Alliances.htm.
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Stephenson, J.H., Persadie, N., Bissessar, A.M., Esnard, T. (2020). Politics and Inclusivity in the Caribbean. In: Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion in Caribbean Organisations and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47614-4_6
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