CARICOM's Role in Furthering National Security in the Caribbean: A Historical Overview

This Chapter presents a reflective discussion of the efforts of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in furthering national security in the Caribbean during two contrasting periods: 1973 to 2000 and 2001 to the present. The former, a period of political instability within the Region gave birth to collective security among OECS member states and Barbados. Collective security emerged in CARICOM during the latter period with the establishment of security as the fourth pillar of the Community, establishment of a crime and security framework and the articulation of a regional crime and security strategy. The Chapter concludes that international advocacy and regional collaboration, together with the pursuit of technical roles, including border control and intelligence gathering are critical to the maintenance of the Region’s national security, but urges that twenty years on, an evaluation of the achievements of the regional collective security infrastructure seems opportune.