The Unique Governance of Caribbean SIDS: A Specialized Field
August 29, 2024
I firmly believe that the governance of Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) is a unique field of study and practice—a specialization all its own (Goede, 2024). These islands exist within post-colonial and post-slavery societies, legacies that have left deep, indelible marks and are embedded in the very DNA of these communities. I have written extensively about this, often referring to our slave society as Society 1.0 (Goede, 2013). I've also argued that many of our current organizations are direct continuations of plantation structures.
I have still considered many ideas but have not yet put them into writing. In Society 1.0, the masses did not control their own fate; they did not even own their bodies, as individuals were the property of their masters, either directly or indirectly. Having a vision or plan was not only pointless but was actively discouraged. This is why Tula, a slave who envisioned a different future and fought for it, is a hero—he defied this suppression of forward-thinking.
As a result, there is no tradition of long-term planning or implementation in these societies. People are often focused on short-term thinking, living in survival mode, and dealing with life on a day-to-day basis. The island did not belong to the people; it belonged to "them"—“nan,” the colonial masters. The society was divided through strategies of divide and conquer, and to this day, social cohesion is lacking.
The saga of building the new hospital, which opened in 2019, is one of the first projects where a vision was successfully implemented or, if you will, materialized. (Other examples are the green energy projects by Aqualectra and the construction of the new airport.) It is no wonder there were many challenges along the way—there is much to learn from this experience. Hopefully, we will learn, but even the process of learning is new to us. We are not accustomed to evaluating and drawing lessons from our experiences. Now that we have the inquiry report, the next step is to learn from it and take action based on those lessons.
References
Goede, M. (2013). Curacao 3.0. Willemstad: University of Governance 5.0 / ThinkTank 5.0.
Goede, M. (2024). Governance 5.0; Caribbean Masterclass. Willemstad: University of Governance 5.0 / Think Tank 5.0.
Miguel Goede
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