The Transnationalization of Garrisons in the Case of Jamaica Michelle Angela Munroe M Munroe [email protected]
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Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 11-13-2013 The aD rk Side of Globalization: The Transnationalization of Garrisons in the Case of Jamaica Michelle Angela Munroe [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FI13120610 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Part of the Comparative Politics Commons, and the International Relations Commons Recommended Citation Munroe, Michelle Angela, "The aD rk Side of Globalization: The rT ansnationalization of Garrisons in the Case of Jamaica" (2013). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 996. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/996 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida THE DARK SIDE OF GLOBALIZATION: THE TRANSNATIONALIZATION OF GARRISONS IN THE CASE OF JAMAICA A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in POLITICAL SCIENCE by Michelle Angela Munroe 2013 To: Dean Kenneth G. Furton College of Arts and Science This dissertation, written by Michelle Angela Munroe, and entitled The Dark Side of Globalization: The Transnationalization of Garrisons in the Case of Jamaica, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this dissertation and recommend that it be approved. _______________________________________ Ronald W. Cox _______________________________________ Felix Martin _______________________________________ Nicol C. Rae _______________________________________ Howard Frank _______________________________________ John F. Stack Jr., Major Professor Date of Defense: November 13, 2013 The dissertation of Michelle Angela Munroe is approved. _______________________________________ Dean Kenneth G. Furton College of Arts and Sciences _______________________________________ Dean Lakshmi N. Reddi University Graduate School Florida International University, 2013 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would first like to thank my parents Palma and Earl Munroe for their patience, understanding, encouragement, and unconditional love. Without their continued support the completion of this work would not have been possible—I love you both. I would also like to thank Melissa Huseby, a good friend, for being my sounding board over the years and for being there when times got tough. As Oprah said, “Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down."--Thank you. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor, Dr. John Stack, for his guidance and advice. I am eternally grateful for his comments and feedback and for dedicating large chunks of his time to patiently reading my dissertation line-by-line, word-by-word, and for questioning every line and every world. His constant push for excellence has taught me to look beyond the obvious and to embrace the complex. Special thanks goes to Dr. Cox for his assistance in helping me to conceptualize my work from the beginning of my journey. I am extremely thankful to all the members of my dissertation committee for their suggestions and questions at every evaluation. All your concerns and advice played a huge role is shaping and framing the direction of my research. Finally, I would like to thank the Department of Politics and International Relations at Florida International University for granting me a Graduate Teaching Assistantship and allowing me the opportunity to obtain a graduate degree. The Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship Studies for the privilege of learning a iii foreign language first hand through their National Security Studies (PINSS) Foreign Language and Cultural Immersion Scholarship. Last, but my no means least, I am indebted to the financial support of the FIU Dissertation Evidence Acquisition (DEA) Fellowship and the Anita Broad Research Award (FIU) for allowing me some reprieve in bringing this long and challenging journey to an end. iv ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION THE DARK SIDE OF GLOBALIZATION: THE TRANSNATIONALIZATION OF GARRISONS IN THE CASE OF JAMAICA by Michelle Angela Munroe Florida International University, 2013 Miami, Florida Professor John F. Stack Jr., Major Professor The current study is concerned with the role that transnational criminal organizations play in the ability of a small country, such as Jamaica, to govern itself effectively. Jamaica is identified as a major producer and distributor of cannabis, since the 1970s, and today plays an active role in other established illicit markets for cocaine and illegal weapons. Despite a long-term and continued involvement in U.S. funded drug trafficking and counterdrug programs, and the establishment of several anti-crime organizations within the country, Jamaica’s successes have been marginal. The current study attempts to examine first, how criminal groups located within the garrisons of Kingston have managed to strengthen their involvement in illegal activities and to evade the state. Second, it explores how these criminal groups have successfully offset the Jamaican state’s monopoly on power within garrison communities. Through a qualitative research design, I utilized a wide range of research methods- observation, open-ended interviews, focus groups, document data, audio-visual data, and text and image analysis- in order to identify the mechanisms by which non-state actors have been able to alter their power relation with the state. The study explores the v relationship between the Jamaican state and criminal groups residing within garrisons specifically located in the Kingston Metropolitan Area. The study concludes that the interactions between garrisons and the Jamaican state have become increasingly more transnational over time. Using Nye and Keohane’s (1971) understanding of transnational relations in an analysis of the garrison, the dissertation asserts that network based criminal groupings residing within garrisons are directly shaping the behavior and policy goals of the Jamaican state by forming coalitions and interactions across state boundaries. These coalitions and interactions involve a wide cross section of non-state actors both criminal and legal, as well as corruptible elements of government. Network based criminal groupings located with Jamaica’s garrisons are increasingly competent in evading the law and in carrying out criminal activity. They do so by employing more fluid organizational and power structures, assuming a more influential role in the distribution and use of violence, and by taking advantage of the liberalization and privatization of the Jamaican economy. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1 Overview and Background of the Study ....................................................................... 1 Identifying the Garrison .............................................................................................. 14 Analysis of Existing Garrison Literature .................................................................... 16 Identifying the Garrison from a transnational scale. ................................................... 22 Thesis Organization ..................................................................................................... 28 CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................... 31 A Note on the Research Design ................................................................................... 31 Case Settings and Participants ..................................................................................... 34 Research Instruments ................................................................................................... 36 Data Collection Procedure ........................................................................................... 42 Confidentiality, Ethical Concerns, and Limitations ..................................................... 48 CHAPTER 3 FROM THE GLOBAL TO THE LOCAL .................................................. 59 Globalization: Revisiting Theoretical Underpinnings ................................................. 60 Moving towards a Transnational Approach to state Interaction .................................. 71 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 78 CHAPTER 4 FROM GANGS TO GARRISONS: 1940s TO 1970s ................................ 80 Understanding Kingston’s Gangs ................................................................................ 81 Gang Formation within the Context of Politics ........................................................... 85 Gangs within the context of the Economy ................................................................... 98 Summary .................................................................................................................... 102 CHAPTER 5 A TYPOLOGY OF THE GARRISON AND IT’S TRANSNATIONAL NATURE ........................................................................................................................ 105 Typology