The Caribbean

Horizons of Possibilities for a Future Without Guarantees

Authors

  • Percy C. Hintzen University of California, Berkeley, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51427/com.jcs.2024.05.0002

Keywords:

imperialism, neocolonialism, tricontinentalism, Westphalianism, coloniality

Abstract

The paper examines horizons of possibilities for charting a course for the Caribbean to a sustainable future through a focus on the multiplicity of connections in which people and institutions of the region are involved.  These possibilities, it is argued, are forged out of global processes that began with colonialism.  They are predicated on a reformulation of regional relations away from forms of Westphalian sovereignty and Euro-American global centers of power. They are present in regional institutional arrangements and organizations that transcend boundaries shaped by histories of colonialism. They derive from the region's histories of anti-colonial resistance that have imbued popular conscience.  And they are contained in the global scale of "tricontinental" relations through which are circulated different forms of rejection of Euro-American domination. The paper examines their potential for transforming the Caribbean in ways that would maximize ecological sustainability, conditions of human sustenance, and regional autonomy.

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Author Biography

Percy C. Hintzen, University of California, Berkeley, USA

Percy C. Hintzen (Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley) received his formal graduate training in comparative political sociology with a particular focus on political economy. He also holds an M.A. degree in international urbanization and public policy. His scholarship reflects his concern with the fraught conditions of upheaval brought about by globalized modern social formations (including modern forms of consciousness), their material manifestations, and their distortions. His work reflects his concern with the entire global enterprise of colonialism that includes Europe and North America.

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Published

2024-06-28

How to Cite

C. Hintzen, Percy. 2024. “The Caribbean: Horizons of Possibilities for a Future Without Guarantees”. Compendium: Journal of Comparative Studies | Revista De Estudos Comparatistas, no. 5 (June). Lisboa, Portugal:11–29. https://doi.org/10.51427/com.jcs.2024.05.0002.