From Afterthought to Centre Stage: The Caribbean and the Summit of the Americas Process

Abstract

In April 2009 the 34 elected leaders of the nations of the Western hemisphere will gather in the twin island nation of Trinidad and Tobago for the fifth Summit of the Americas. This event will offer an opportunity to renew the sense of purpose in inter-American relations following a period of deepening strain. Fifteen years will have passed since the first Summit of the Americas was held in Miami, Florida in 1994, and the initial sense of enthusiasm and convergence that accompanied the early years of the summit process have since given way to increasing tension and rancour. Indeed, the sharp divisions that emerged during the fourth Summit — the ill-fated meeting in Mar del Plata, Argentina that collapsed in disarray in November 2005 — left a bitter taste in the mouths of many presidents and prime ministers, calling into question whether hemispheric summitry had become an exhausted project. The stakes are high, therefore, for the 2009 summit to set hemispheric affairs on a sounder foundation and create a framework to bring new ideas and energy into the summit process.