Afro-Caribbean Political Culture in Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago

• Main Authors: Wen-Chih Huang, 黃文志
• Other Authors: 陳小雀
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/56432254915240063457

碩士 === 淡江大學 === 拉丁美洲研究所碩士班 === 99 === Since the African slaves replaced the original Amerindian population, the African ethnic group has become the largest ethnic group in the Caribbean region. The profound legacies of the past slavery and African progeny have played critical roles in shaping present-day diversities of social, economic, and political dimensions in the region. From the transition toward and upon gaining independence from colonial powers, the Caribbean region has so many impressive liberal democratic experiences than other developing countries around the world, especially the manifestations of their inherited political attitudes, present political institutions, the political values, and processes—the adaptation of Westminster system—particularly in the English-speaking Caribbean. In this thesis, I divide the development of Afro-Caribbean political culture into three phases and related to the types of political cultures. At the first phase, the inhuman slavery and the plantation society influenced the initial development of Afro-Caribbean political culture. Basically, the black population at this time had no choice but submitted themselves to the rule of the whites. At the second phase, the Caribbean region witnessed profound social, economic, and political changes. In this time, there were five elements influencing the development of Afro-Caribbean political culture: education, economic diversification, the emergences of Pan-Africanism, Garveyism, and the Rastafarianism, the labor movement in the 1930s, and the political empowerment between the 1940s and 1950s. What they caused were significant and indelible results in the future. There were two elements influencing the Afro-Caribbean political culture in the third phase: the legacies of slavery and colonialism and British-educated politicians and British Labour Party-influenced political parties. However, the development faced some internal threatens and challenges from the Black Power Movement and the Rastafarian movement, because they questioned the legitimacy of Afro-Caribbean governments. Actually, this thesis will take three key factors to explain the overall development of Afro-Caribbean political culture. The Afro-Caribbean political culture is not invariable although there is to some extent a common consensus in each country. The inheritance of political culture and institutions from British Empire has survived for a long time. The educated electorate need more educated leaders to lead them get rid of poverty and unequal distribution. The economic achievement and solutions to employment become major determinants of the electorate to examine the parties’ policies and promises. With the globalization and popularity of Internet, especially the young generation, the increasing discontent with incumbent government and transformation in valuing system emerge among the populace. People would adopt less radical ways rather than the mass media frequently to present their disaffections and viewpoints. The uses of Internet and cyberspace change the way which people receive and exchange information, directly providing an increasing important means of democratic expression as well as a source of public pressure on state authority.