Preface and Acknowledgements

• Author: Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith
• Profession: Professor of Political Science and Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at York College of The City University of New York
• Pages: 21-22

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Preface and Acknowledgements

The genesis of this book was a visit to the University of Central Florida

(UCF) in Orlando, Florida, in June 2002 to deliver a series of lectures to their

Fulbright Scholars Group. My wife and our two teenaged children

accompanied me on that visit, as our daughter, then a high school sophomore,

had UCF on her ‘colleges of interest’ list. While in Orlando we went to

Disney World. It was while waiting in the lines to purchase tickets and then

to gain entry to Universal Studios that I conceived this work.

My family had visited Disney theme parks before. The lines in June

2002 were no longer than on previous occasions. As a matter of fact there

was less of a throng on that visit than on the other summer days that we had

been to Disney World. But two things were different in 2002. One, it took

longer to gain entry. This was directly linked to the second factor: the security

measures introduced in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist

incidents, which added what I called a ‘hassle factor’ to a normally visitor

friendly experience, in addition to significantly slowing the pace of entry.

As I stood in the lines observing the security measures at Universal Studios

and thinking of the implications of a terrorist attack at that or any theme

park in terms of the physical safety of patrons and the economic,

psychological, and political impact on Florida and the nation, I began to

extend my ‘impact of terrorism’ thoughts to the Caribbean. So slow was the

journey into the park that I had time to sketch the architecture of this volume,

jotting down points about aims, conceptual framework, contributors,

timetable, and potential publishers.

A two-day conference on the subject of the volume in early 2003 was an

important stage of the development of the project. It was held in Jamaica

and was cosponsored by the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, the

Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), and The Honours College of Florida

International University. The conference had two main aims. One was to

allow contributors to share drafts of their chapters and get comments and

suggestions from other project participants. The other aim was to extend the

discourse on contemporary Caribbean security to scholars and security

practitioners in Jamaica.

I wish to record my enormous appreciation to my cosponsoring colleagues,

Professor Kenneth Hall, UWI pro vice chancellor and principal at Mona,

and Admiral Hardley Lewin, chief of staff of the JDF. Their endorsement of

the idea for the conference was both immediate and unreserved. Several

members of their staff rendered efficient service in organising and hosting