The International Relations of the Caribbean Basin

Abstract

The international relations of the states located in the Caribbean Basin are dominated above all by the presence and power of the US. This is as true today for the countries which once formed part of the British Empire, as it is for the countries of the isthmus, from Guatemala through to Panama, and the islands of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, which experienced direct US domination and in some cases intervention at the end of the nineteenth century. Internal politics, economic policies, development strategies etc. are designed with reference as to how they will be received in Washington. In all the states of the Caribbean Basin, therefore, decision-making internally, political and economic, is permeated with US influence.