The Caribbean in a 'World That Has Lost Its Way' and The 'Crisis' of Multilateralism

• Author: Tyrone Ferguson
• Pages: 285-298

The Caribbean in a ‘World That Has Lost Its Way’ 285

INTRODUCTION

The starting-point for this analysis of the Caribbean1 and the

contemporary ‘crisis’ of multilateralism is the following quotation:

The paradox — and the tragedy — of recent times is that even as the

need for better management of relations between nations and for a

multilateral approach to global problems has become more manifest,

support for internationalism has weakened — eroded by some of the

strongest nations whose position behooves them to be at its vanguard

and who have in the past acknowledged that obligation of leadership.

This is most true, of course, of the United States, whose recent

behaviour has served actually to weaken the structures of

multilateralism, including the United Nations itself.2

Interestingly, these words were not written apropos the challenges that

the UN currently faces and the ongoing clash of world order vision between

the respective proponents of unilateralism and multilateralism as effective

bases for the management of contemporary global relations. Actually,

they were written by Sir Shridath Ramphal, the then Secretary-General of

the Commonwealth Secretariat, in 1988 — 15 years ago — in a Preface to a

book titled The UN Under Attack.

In other words, what is taking place today in relation to the challenges

confronting multilateralism is nothing new.3 Specifically with regard to

the UN multilateral process, for much of its history, the UN organization

has come regularly under attack and has periodically faced crises of

relevance and legitimacy. Moreover, the larger crisis of multilateralism

encompassing the UN system, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and

the Bretton Woods organizations (the International Monetary Fund and

World Bank) has been with us for some time now.

This analysis explores the position of the Caribbean with regard to the

contemporary challenges and threats faced by multilateralism in the

THE CARIBBEAN IN A ‘WORLD THATTHE CARIBBEAN IN A ‘WORLD THAT

THE CARIBBEAN IN A ‘WORLD THATTHE CARIBBEAN IN A ‘WORLD THAT

THE CARIBBEAN IN A ‘WORLD THAT

HAS LOST ITS WAY’ AND THE ‘CRISIS’HAS LOST ITS WAY’ AND THE ‘CRISIS’

HAS LOST ITS WAY’ AND THE ‘CRISIS’HAS LOST ITS WAY’ AND THE ‘CRISIS’

HAS LOST ITS WAY’ AND THE ‘CRISIS’

OF MULTILATERALISMOF MULTILATERALISM

OF MULTILATERALISMOF MULTILATERALISM

OF MULTILATERALISM

Tyrone Ferguson

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