Island Challenges

Island Challenges

Caribbean and Pacific Futures

von John Connell

This book examines the key development challenges facing the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the Caribbean and the Pacific, focusing on livelihoods and state security and stability in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It provides a comprehensive overview by exploring six broad and interrelated themes: state capacity to provide basic services (such as health, water, education, electrification); migration, remittances and aid; climate change adaptation, biodiversity and environmental hazards; agriculture and fisheries; tourism and economic diversification; state solidity and stability (with attention to gender, equity  and the politics of governance).

The book traces how threats to the livelihoods of island households, especially for those literally and metaphorically living on the edge, are linked to overseas decisions, events and shocks, ranging from cyclones to migration policies, resort chains, drug trafficking, warfare, and commodity supply chains. It also shows how enthusiasm for a secure blue economy has required new approaches to national development, regional cooperation and global statecraft, particularly as China exported its maritime Belt and Road Initiative. As a new geopolitical order emerges and climate change continues, this book provides crucial insights into how small island states are building effective development pathways.

“This is a thoughtful and well-researched book that makes a meaningful contribution to understanding Small Island Developing States (SIDS) development challenges. The authors confront every major development challenge facing SIDS, distilling and connecting them to the human level, and in doing so, demonstrate that development is indeed local. Grounded in the lived experiences of SIDS peoples, it powerfully illustrates how global forces, particularly climate change, shape their lives in profound ways. This is, without question, an exceptional and deeply resonant work.” (Courtney Lindsay, Senior Research Officer at ODI-Global, UK, Co-Director of the Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI))

This book examines the key development challenges facing the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the Caribbean and the Pacific, focusing on livelihoods and state security and stability in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It provides a comprehensive overview by exploring six broad and interrelated themes: state capacity to provide basic services (such as health, water, education, electrification); migration, remittances and aid; climate change adaptation, biodiversity and environmental hazards; agriculture and fisheries; tourism and economic diversification; state solidity and stability (with attention to gender, equity  and the politics of governance).

The book traces how threats to the livelihoods of island households, especially for those literally and metaphorically living on the edge, are linked to overseas decisions, events and shocks, ranging from cyclones to migration policies, resort chains, drug trafficking, warfare, and commodity supply chains. It also shows how enthusiasm for a secure blue economy has required new approaches to national development, regional cooperation and global statecraft, particularly as China exported its maritime Belt and Road Initiative. As a new geopolitical order emerges and climate change continues, this book provides crucial insights into how small island states are building effective development pathways

Yonique Campbell  has a DPhil from the University of Oxford and is a Senior Lecturer in Public Policy & Management in the Department of Government at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. She is the author of  Citizenship on the Margins: State Power, Security and Precariousness in 21st-Century Jamaica  (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020). She has also served as a policy advisor to the Minister of Health and Wellness, Government of Jamaica.   John Connell  is Professor of Geography in the School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, Australia. He works mainly on small island development issues in the Pacific region and has published several books on migration and colonialism. He and Yonique edited  COVID in the Islands: A Comparative Perspective on the Caribbean and the Pacific  (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021).

Highlights

• Offers a unique account of developmental challenges in two island regions since the massive impacts of COVID-19 Explores a variety of themes in the context of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and considers progress towards these goals Brings together valuable interdisciplinary perspectives

Über den Autor

Yonique Campbell  has a DPhil from the University of Oxford and is a Senior Lecturer in Public Policy & Management in the Department of Government at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. She is the author of  Citizenship on the Margins: State Power, Security and Precariousness in 21st-Century Jamaica  (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020). She has also served as a policy advisor to the Minister of Health and Wellness, Government of Jamaica.   John Connell  is Professor of Geography in the School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, Australia. He works mainly on small island development issues in the Pacific region and has published several books on migration and colonialism. He and Yonique edited  COVID in the Islands: A Comparative Perspective on the Caribbean and the Pacific  (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021).