Do Small Island States Have A Future In A Globalised World?

1. Norman Girvan Institute of International Relations University of the West Indies St Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago ISISA Conference 1-5 November 2004 Do Small Island States Have A Future In A Globalised World?

2. SIS tourism is a multibillion dollar indicator of their ‘market’ value in a globalised world ‘Extra-market’ contribution of SIS ecosystems given political recognition by the world community in SIDS Declaration But continuing threats to the viability of SIS from global market, ecological and political processes A global contradiction

3. Global market failure Fragmentation of global governance systems ‘Cosmology of disconnection’ Why the contradiction?

4. Resolving the contradiction • Learn from ‘cosmologies of interconnection’ of Indigenous Knowledge Systems • Interconnect emerging system of global governance and commitments in the environment, trade, finance and social development • Incorporate SIS ‘right to exist’ as a global entitlement

5. SIDS Declaration recognises ecological services and that their “survival is firmly rooted in their human resources and cultural heritage, which are their most significant assets (and) under severe stress” Ambiguity of SIDS Declaration - human and cultural assets are also of value to the entire world community - part of the ‘cultural gene pool’ of mankind. Extinction of SI would be a form of cultural series loss, as well as biological/ecological Value of SIS

6. 16th century: destruction of indigenous people 17th-19th centuries: African slave trade and Asian indentured servitude 17th – 21st centuries: cultural adaptations of transplanted populations Creative achievements in language, agriculture, politics, sport, music, literature, culture, migration—creation of new cultural assets for world community Creation of new insular identities Caribbean case

7. Environmental vulnerability Hurricane Ivan Sept 2004

8. Grenada Sept 8 04

11. Jamaica Sept 13 04

14. Historically, losers from national market integration were compensated by movement of labour and by social and geographic redistribution measures undertaken by national governments No analogous provisions for losers from international market integration The initial impact of globalisation for small countries is likely to be negative Global environmental, labour and social commitments are not legally binding and enforceable WTO – the missing links

15. Transnational crime, a global multibillion dollar industry fuelled by globalisation, controls resources that dwarf those of small, medium and some large states In Caribbean, drug economy ‘exceeds the GDP of 12 of the 14 Caricom states’ and drug-transit exports ‘exceed the total of Caricom’s top five domestic exports ’ Effects include corruption, violent crime, kidnapping, extortion, protection, money laundering Containment only possible with international cooperation Security

16. Unity of effort around broad goals and strategies is a necessary condition to cope with challenges of globalisation This may be easier to achieve in SIS where sense of community and identity is strong Democratic participation in goal-setting may be facilitated small scale National governance

17. For SIS, the benefits of regionalism lie less in market integration and more in functional cooperation Two important areas are (i) management of shared ecosystems and (ii) external negotiations Example (i) Caribbean Sea Initiative of the Association of Caribbean States Example (ii) Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery of CARICOM Regional governance

18. Effective national and regional governance by SIS essential to reform of global governance Architecture of global governance should recognize SIS ‘right to exist’ as members of the global community Coherence – incorporate recognition across all instruments Instruments should be inter-connected and given equally binding status as international treaty obligations International Governance