"Following the conclusion of the Second World War, the countries of the Caribbean faced serious challenges that threatened their individual survival. Political independence was meaningless without economic independence and the newly independent states of the Caribbean found themselves severely challenges by an international economic system founded on a development paradigm premised on the belief that the accumulation of wealth was the sole route to prosperity and that creating the conditions for more wealth was the preferred pathway to sustainable development. There have been numerous changes to this scenario over the years and Confronting Challenges Maximising Opportunities traces the Caribbean s response to the varying challenges. Using market access as the point to highlight specific challenges, this collection examines Caribbean Diplomacy and paints a picture of the imperatives for social and economic development and the need for a proactive stance to the conditionalities inherent in market access negotiations. "

Articles on development theory and the economic policy of dependence in the Commonwealth Caribbean - examines political developments in Jamaica (democratic socialism), Trinidad and Tobago (oil capitalism), Guyana, (cooperative socialism), and Grenada (the New Jewel Revolution); discusses regional level economic integration, industrial planning and CARICOM; studies international relations with USA, UK, EC, and Latin America; and the role of the Commonwealth Caribbean in a New International Economic Order. Map.

Prominent Caribbean scholars and policy experts analyze the implications for the Caribbean of a world in transition. Issues are presented in a new international context, including prospects for Cuba and Haiti. The effects of external debt and structural adjustment are reviewed; likely benefits and hazards of development options such as trade liberalization, privatization, and foreign direct investment are probed. The evolving Caribbean business environment and the political dynamic between public and private sectors are described.The external challenges for the Caribbean presented by the possible disappearance of unilateral trade preferences in Europe and North America are studied in chapters advancing a post-Lome strategy and planning for increased regional competitiveness. Also highlighted are intra-Caribbean relations and integration and projections for the future of hemispheric cooperation.