The Three Guianas: Their External Relations

• Author: Cedric Grant
• Profession: Professor
• Pages: 259-287

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The Three Guianas

The Three Guianas: Their External

Relations

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0Professor Cedric Grant

Introduction

This study is not primarily about the interaction among Guyana,

Suriname and French Guiana. This is because the interaction among these

countries has not been extensive. Territorial disputes between Suriname and

Guyana and Suriname and France over the boundary between Suriname and

French Guiana have occasionally strained relations between the countries,

but neither of the two disputes has ruptured relations and therefore do not

account for the limited interaction. The explanation is to be found in other

aspects of the history of the countries. It is in over-riding the logic of geography

that history has created links among these countries that are tenuous and

undeveloped. History dictated that the lines of communication of these

countries run, not across their borders towards each other, but rather outward

from the continent to their respective metropolitan powers and to the group

of countries in the Caribbean with which they are politically, economically

and culturally associated.

Guyana and Suriname have interacted more as members of international

and regional organisations rather than as neighbours. There is little trade or

cultural exchange between them. They owe much of their bilateral links to

the migration of Guyanese as workers and small businessmen, and their

contribution to the economic development of Suriname. The settlement of

Guyanese and Surinamese in French Guiana, a constant two-way tourist

traffic, as well as a limited measure of trade between Suriname and French

Guiana, account mainly for French Guiana’s links with Suriname and Guyana.

260 Interview, Border and Maritime Issues in CARICOM

Because it lacks the capacity to conduct its international affairs, French Guiana

is unable to interact with Suriname and Guyana in international organisations.

Because of transcending importance, it is appropriate to devote this study

to the metropolitan and regional relationships, old and new, and to reserve

the discussion of the prospect of greater interaction among the three Guianas

for the concluding section. The principal purpose for this paper, therefore, is

to examine the international relationships that each of these countries has

developed. The examination is undertaken in a manner that establishes the

inter-play between the internal affairs of each country and a changing

international environment. This approach allows for comparisons; for

identification of similarities and divergences in the development of external

relations. An analysis of how their colonial ties account for their divergent

political paths, sets the stage for the study of contemporary developments.

This paper contends that in their search for their respective identities,

these counties are diversifying their relations in response to the imperatives

of geography and the spread and consolidation of the movement towards

regional economic integration throughout the world. Guyana obeyed these

imperatives from the beginning of its life as an independent country. The

pace at which Suriname could pursue this regional and hemispheric destiny

will be determined as much by its cultural absorbability as by its political

predisposition. Although it is a stubborn impediment to the pursuit of a

Caribbean identity, French Guiana’s economic relationship with the region

is being explored. Altogether, these countries appear destined to identify

more with Latin American and Caribbean countries, than with each other,

although the centrifugal influence that originates from their metropolitan

ties, will remain.

Historical Setting

As part of the elusive search for El Dorado, various expeditions from

Europe confirmed the existence and distinctiveness of the Guiana region

which consisted, not only of French Guiana, Guiana and Suriname, but

also the northern part of Brazil. The distinctiveness faded as various European

powers imposed their will upon the region. Indeed Guiana and Suriname

were subjected to British, Dutch and French rule at various periods of their

colonial experience. French Guiana escaped British rule but experienced the

presence of the Portuguese. Rivalry among these powers and their trade in

the spoils of war, finally produced three politically disparate countries.