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The Diplomacies of Small States pp 264–278Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

The Caribbean Confronts the OECD: Tax Competition and Diplomacy

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Part of the book series: International Political Economy Series ((IPES))

Abstract

This chapter presents a case study of small state diplomacy with an exploration of the confrontation between small states hosting offshore financial centres (OFCs), and the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) over its ‘harmful tax competition’ project.1 In this analysis, diplomacy is understood as a relationship between states involving dialogue and negotiation (Evans and Newnham, 1998: 129). Diplomacy is, in the words of Martin Wight (1986: 113), ‘the system and the art of communication between powers’. With this quotation it is worth noting for the context of the following analysis that his posthumous text was titled Power Politics. While the analytical approach within this chapter does not follow the realist perspective of Wight, state power and the relationships of power between states nonetheless are central to this analysis.

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Authors
  1. William Vlcek
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for International Governance Innovation, Canada

    Andrew F. Cooper (Associate Director and Distinguished Fellow) (Associate Director and Distinguished Fellow)

  2. Institute of International Relations, The University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago

    Timothy M. Shaw (Professor and Director) (Professor and Director)

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© 2009 William Vlcek

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Vlcek, W. (2009). The Caribbean Confronts the OECD: Tax Competition and Diplomacy. In: Cooper, A.F., Shaw, T.M. (eds) The Diplomacies of Small States. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230246911_15

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