The Political Economy Of Small Tropical Islands

This book is a comparative study of a number of dependent and independent tropical islands and archipelagos. Its contributors seek to answer a number of vital questions affecting the security, political status and economic development of some of the world's smallest and most remote communities. Contributions by Robert Aldrich, John Cameron, John Connell, Fred Constant, Henrique Pinto da Costa, Mike Faber, David Hamilton-Jones, Helen M. Hintjens, Jean Houbert, David Lowenthal, David Marlow, Malyn Newitt and Gordon Titchener

First Published in 2004. Islands have always fascinated people. They often seem remote and mysterious, set between the continents on which most people live. Indeed, many people choose islands for their perfect holiday idyll. In practice, however, the everyday social and economic reality is often very different. A Geography of Islands firstly examines the differing ways islands are formed. Despite the uniqueness of such islands in terms of shape, size, flora and fauna, and also their economic and developmental profiles, they all share certain characteristics and constraints imposed by their insularity. These present islands everywhere with a range of common problems. A Geography of Islands considers how their small scale, isolation, peripherality and often a lack of resources, has affected islands, in the present day and their past. It considers and discusses population issues, communications and services, island politics and new ways of making a living, especially tourism, found within contemporary island geography. A Geography of Islands gives a comprehensive survey of ‘islandness’ and its defining features. Stephen A. Royle has visited and studied 320 islands in 50 countries in all the world’s oceans. It is full of up-to-date global case studies, from Okinawa to Inishbofin, and Hawaii to Crete. In the final chapter, all the themes are brought together in a case study of the Atlantic island of St Helena. It is well illustrated with the author’s own photographs and maps. This book will appeal to those studying islands as well as those with an interest in the topic, particularly those engaged in dealing with small island economies.

Small islands often enjoy a distinct juridical personality. Many, whether fully sovereign or not, successfully deploy this "gift of jurisdiction" to economic advantage, offsetting the potentially adverse effects of smallness, isolation and peripherality. These legal powers, reflected in supportive policy and culture, are themselves key economic resources in a development strategy. Globalization can be richly asymmetrical, offering lucrative opportunities for differentiation and nice strategies for small island jurisdictions. This book documents such lessons from a most unlikely group of North Atlantic Islands.

Comprehensive and timely, this Handbook identifies the key characteristics, challenges and opportunities involved in the politics of small states across the globe today. Acknowledging the historical legacies behind these states, the chapters unpack the costs and benefits of different political models for small states.

The dynamics for any moves for political independence in the 21st century are very different from those of the 20th. The aspirations of former colonies to independence are grinding to a halt; the rationale for selfdetermination is increasingly driven by strategic and pragmatic economic arguments, and not so much by nationalist appeals. Meanwhile, creative governance, fiscal vicissitudes and membership of supra-national bodies have ushered in examples of ‘sovereign states’ that approximate suzerain entities. Are independence movements active today aspiring to a different kind of sovereignty from their 20th century predecessors, one that secures autonomy at home, but which maintains a special relationship with a larger, richer, country? This collection critically reviews the origins, policies and aspirations of independence movements from the world’s subnational island jurisdictions, where a distinct and separate geography tends to facilitate the emergence of an equally distinct political and cultural identity. These island territories are the world’s top candidates for achieving sovereign status. And yet various factors are preventing them from making the final push towards independence. This book was originally published as a special issue of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics

From Charles Darwin’s enlightening voyage to the Galapagos Islands to moat-encased prisons incarcerating the world’s deadliest prisoners, islands have been sites of immense scientific, political, and creative importance. An inspiration for artists and writers, they can be lively centers of holiday revelry or remote, mysterious spots; places of escape or of exile and imprisonment. In this cultural and scientific history of these alluring, isolated territories, Stephen A. Royle describes the great variety of islands, their economies, and the animals, plants, and people who thrive on them. Royle shows that despite the view of some islands as earthly paradises, they are often beset by severe limitations in both resources and opportunities. Detailing the population loss many islands have faced in recent years, he considers how islanders have developed their homes into tourist destinations in order to combat economic instability. He also explores their exotic, otherworldly beauty and the ways they have provided both refuge and inspiration for artists, such as Paul Gauguin in Tahiti and George Orwell on the Scottish island of Jura. Filled with illustrations, Islands is a compelling and comprehensive survey of the geographical and cultural aspects of island life.

Studies of the global political economy have rarely engaged with development in the Caribbean, the thought of its indigenous intellectuals, or the non-sovereign territories of the region. Matthew Bishop compares the development of the independent English-speaking islands of St Lucia and St Vincent and their non-sovereign French neighbours, Martinique and Guadeloupe. By explaining how distinctive patterns of British and French colonialism and decolonisation came to bear on them, he investigates how very different patterns of development have subsequently ensued, often with startling consequences in this era of globalization and crisis. By engaging with the empirical reality of the Caribbean, his study sheds light on a range of wider debates relating to development, indigenous thought, post-colonial sovereignty, small states, and the contemporary evolution of the global political economy.

This book provides a comparative study of the legislatures of small nations, states and territories, to explore the extent to which size is a factor in how they function and fulfil the roles and responsibility of a legislature. Though the physical nature and environment of states is a neglected subject in political science research, this book examines the impact of small state size on the structure and functions of legislatures and contributes to a better understanding of the interplay of physical and social factors. Focussing on legislatures in democratic nations or in territories that are parts of democratic units, the book features case studies on Malta, Bermuda, Jersey, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, the Isle of Man, Commonwealth Caribbean, Nunavut (Canada), Pacific islands, Swaziland, and Scotland. Contributors employ an interdisciplinary approach to examine both the outcomes and causes of different political mechanisms, and bring to the surface underlying correlation between small states through their analysis. Legislatures of Small States will be of interest to students and scholars of international politics, comparative politics and legislative studies.