THE ACTIVISM AND INCLUSION OF CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS IN CARICOM ON TRADE NEGOTIATING MATTERS: A LOOK AT THREE CASES By Kristina Giselle Hinds Thesis submitted to The London School of Economics and Political Science for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in International Relations University of London 2007 1 AUTHOR DECLARATION I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. ..................................... Kristina Giselle Hinds 2 ABSTRACT This thesis seeks to understand why civil society organisations (CSOs) in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) began to mobilise in the 1990s and why government overtures to consulting CSOs on trade matters emerged from around the same time. In addition, this thesis examines the ways in which different types of CSOs have mobilised on trade issues and the ways in which governments have included CSOs in trade consultations. To answer the “why” questions, this thesis posits that both material and ideational factors were important for motivating CSOs to conceive of themselves as needing to mobilise on trade matters in the context of the 1990s. The material and ideational factors of note here are: shifts in the direction of neo-liberal policy orientation, towards a focus on globalisation and towards emphasising good governance. These have impacted on actor interests and perceptions. Despite ideational and material factors impacting on CSO interest perceptions and on government approaches to trade matters, these factors cannot account for variations in the types of CSOs that mobilise and that governments consult on trade matters. This is where institutional factors become important. Institutions can help one to understand how different CSOs have mobilized and how CSOs have been included on trade matters at the region level and across three case studies (Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and St. Lucia). In essence the thesis shows that whilst ideational and material factors help one to understand why CSOs have mobilised and have been included, institutional factors help one to understand how they have been included. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE ................................................................................................................................1 AUTHOR DECLARATION............................................................................................ 2 ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... 6 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 6 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................................... 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. 9 1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................... 11 1.1 RATIONALE OF THESIS AND APPROACH TO QUESTIONS..........................................12 1.2 INTRODUCING CS AND CSOS............................................................................................23 1.3 OUTLINE, METHODS AND METHODOLOGY..................................................................28 SUMMARY...................................................................................................................................37 PART A............................................................................................................................ 39 2. CSOS, INTERESTS, IDEAS AND ACTIVISM ...................................................... 40 2.1 CS, CSOS AND INTEREST GROUPS ...................................................................................41 2.2 MOTIVATIONS FOR CSOS FORMATION AND MOBILISATION...................................47 2.3 IDEATIONAL AND MATERIAL FACTORS IN UNDERSTANDING INTERNATIONAL POLITICS......................................................................................................................................58 APPROACHES TO IDEAS...........................................................................................................59 CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................65 3. CSO EVOLUTION AND ACTIVISM IN THE ANGLO-CARIBBEAN FROM THE 19TH CENTURY .................................................................................................... 67 3.1 CSOS AND THEIR ACTIVISM: THE 19TH CENTURY TO MID-20TH CENTURY .............68 3.2 CSO ACTIVISM ON REGIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FROM FEDERATION TO CARICOM.....................................................................................................................................78 3.3 CSOS IN THE 1970S, 1980S AND ONWARDS.....................................................................87 CONCLUSION: FEEDING HISTORY INTO THE CONTEMPORARY....................................94 4. DIFFERENCES IN IDEATIONAL-MATERIAL CONTEXT, DIFFERENCES IN CSO MOBILISATION AND INCLUSION............................................................ 96 4.1 THE 1970S CSOS AND CARICOM POLITICO-ECONOMIC RELATIONS .......................97 4.2 THE 1980S INTO THE 1990S: ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL SEA CHANGE ...............109 4.3 CARICOM AND CSO RESPONSES TO THE TURNING TIDE.........................................123 CONCLUSION: THE IMPLICATIONS .....................................................................................133 4 PART B.......................................................................................................................... 135 5. TRADE NEGOTIATING AGENDA SETTING AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL: CSO MOBILISATION AND INCLUSION ............................................................... 136 5.1 WORKING REGIONALLY..................................................................................................137 5.2 UMBRELLA CSO MOBILISATION AND INCLUSION....................................................148 CONCLUSIONS FOR THE REGIONAL LEVEL......................................................................173 6. CONSULTATIONS ON TRADE AGENDAS THROUGH SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP? THE CASE OF BARBADOS....................................................... 177 6.1 THE EARLY 1990S-RECESSION AND INSTITUTIONALISED TRIPARTISM..............179 6.2 THE SP AND CSO CONSULTATION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE ISSUES .............191 CONCLUSION: WHAT THIS CASE IMPLIES........................................................................205 7. TRADE CONSULTATIONS IN THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO....................................................................................................................... 209 7.1 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND CONSULTATIVE FRAMEWORKS............................211 7.2 CSO PARTICIPATION ON TRADE ISSUES ......................................................................220 CONCLUSION: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER......................................................................234 8. CONSULTATIONS ON THE TRADE AGENDA IN AN LDC WITHOUT A NATIONAL CONSULTATIVE MECHANISM: THE ST. LUCIAN EXPERIENCE ......................................................................................................................................... 238 8.1 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND THE EMERGENCE OF CONSULTATIONS WITH THE BANANA AFFAIR .....................................................................................................................240 8.2 CONSULTATIVE MECHANISMS ON TRADE AND CSO ACTIVISM ...........................251 CONCLUDING FOR ST. LUCIA ...............................................................................................262 9. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................... 265 THE FOUNDATIONS ................................................................................................................266 THE REGIONAL CONTEXT .....................................................................................................269 THE CASES ................................................................................................................................270 SO WHAT?..................................................................................................................................274 APPENDICES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................................... 277 APPENDIX A - A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TERM CIVIL SOCIETY IN EUROPEAN THOUGHT ............................................................................................ 278 APPENDIX B - A CLOSER LOOK AT TRADE DEPENDENCE ACROSS THE REGION ........................................................................................................................ 283 APPENDIX C - A BRIEF CARICOM HISTORY .................................................... 285 APPENDIX D - INSTITUTIONAL FEATURES OF CARICOM........................... 288 APPENDIX E - DOCUMENTS ON THE ST. LUCIA NWCT ................................ 291 APPENDIX F - LIST OF INTERVIEWEES ............................................................