Introduction

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to investigate and analyse the detailed political interactions of the Caribbean banana trade, as an important contemporary issue within the context of the international trading system. The emphasis on the role of interest groups within the study helps us to further our understanding of the nature of the political process. At the centre of the study of this important and controversial aspect of international affairs, is an evaluation of the relationship between the traditional actors in the trade, namely governments (and government departments), private corporate interests, and producers. Within this context, an assessment is made of why the nature of Caribbean banana imports into the United Kingdom developed in the way it has, and why in the past 30 years the traditional actors within the trade have seen their influence and importance decline.