Between Self-Determination and Dependency analyses the nature and trajectory of Jamaica's foreign relations from 1972 to 1989. The central argument is that the relative autonomy of the Jamaican state declined due to the evolution of a new international regime which in effect disallowed the...

Between Self-Determination and Dependency analyses the nature and trajectory of Jamaica's foreign relations from 1972 to 1989. The central argument is that the relative autonomy of the Jamaican state declined due to the evolution of a new international regime which in effect disallowed the political, social and economic experimentation originally envisioned. Neither the attempt at radical nationalism by the People's National Party, nor the 'accommodationist' stance of the Jamaica Labour Party served to reduce Jamaica's structural dependency.

The analysis factors in the political and economic interests and policies of both domestic and foreign social forces as they negotiated the foreign policies of the Jamaican state. Thus, the text employs a more holistic perspective. It departs from earlier studies that tended to focus on the diplomatic history of the country's foreign relations without illuminating the various co-determinants that defined the context of state action.

Providing an empirical look at the Jamaican economy, this careful study examines the impact of the IMF approach to economic management in the 1980s and compares it to the non-IMF policies of the 1970s. Demonstrating that Jamaica's income is among the most unequally distributed in the world, the...

Providing an empirical look at the Jamaican economy, this careful study examines the impact of the IMF approach to economic management in the 1980s and compares it to the non-IMF policies of the 1970s. Demonstrating that Jamaica's income is among the most unequally distributed in the world, the author explores how the policies of various governments affected income distribution, focusing on whether non-IMF policies had a different effect than IMF policies.

This study in comparative politics provides a comparison and contrast in the political development of two countries that have divergent historical influences. This work furthers our understanding of both nations by pulling together themes and patterns common to both the Hispanic and British...

This study in comparative politics provides a comparison and contrast in the political development of two countries that have divergent historical influences. This work furthers our understanding of both nations by pulling together themes and patterns common to both the Hispanic and British traditions. The authors develop a single framework for analyzing patterns in colonial legacies, the gaining of independence, formation of political institutions, the emergence of political leadership, and the creation and implementation of policies in the two states. The background and contemporary developments of both the Dominican Republic and Jamaica are treated within the context of this framework.

Gray's central thesis asserts that the Jamaican state is a form of predatory state that incorporates contradictory social forces into an arrangement that is hierarchical, often brutal and ultimately debilitating to democracy. He introduces a series of constructs to support this argument, but the...

Gray's central thesis asserts that the Jamaican state is a form of predatory state that incorporates contradictory social forces into an arrangement that is hierarchical, often brutal and ultimately debilitating to democracy. He introduces a series of constructs to support this argument, but the more interesting and novel theses are to be found in his vivid description of the social forces that resist the predatory state and how they have carved out a modicum of autonomy based on what he describes as an elaborate value system of "badness/honour."