Caribbean Imperatives

Book excerpt: "With the launch of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy and the Caribbean Court of Justice, the Caribbean Community has taken major steps to promote closer and more intensive forms of economic cooperation among its constituent members. This effort requires the adoption of innovative approaches to regional governance and creative regional development strategies aimed at maximizing the exercise of sovereignty within the Community and also optimizing the development possibilities of the region. The 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Caribbean Community in 2003 marked an important milestone in the historical evolution of regional integration in the Caribbean. Caribbean Imperatives focuses on several important topics relevant to the future of the community by addressing issues such as the conception of the Caribbean Community; integration theory; the exercise of sovereignty; the Single Market and Economy; production integration; the external relations of the community; and the importance of multilateralism for the viability of small states in the international system. The analysis contained in the volume is extremely relevant to policy makers in the region in managing the transition to more intensive forms of regional integration aimed at improving the well-being of the people of the Caribbean. "