De Coteau, Dawn
(2021)
Corruption in Caribbean Politics - Examining Cultural Tolerance.
PhD thesis, University of Liverpool.
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Abstract
This thesis examines the issue of corruption in modern Caribbean politics. It adopts an interdisciplinary approach that seeks to place contemporary political and legal debates about corruption in their socio-cultural and historical context. In particular, the thesis identifies the long-term impacts of colonialism, slavery and indentureship on socio-economic conditions in the Caribbean and on its political systems and political cultures, and it explores the consequences of these issues for the dynamics of corruption in the Caribbean today. The central hypothesis is that these conditions have facilitated the emergence of a ‘cultural tolerance’ of corruption. In other words, customs and behaviours that form part of daily practices, while questionable, have become accepted, and tolerated and therefore normalised. The thesis draws on a range of secondary and primary data collected and analysed using qualitative methods. These sources include official reports, legislation, media coverage and semi-structured interviews with lawyers, politicians, journalists and academic specialists. The findings underline two key points of significance. First, acts of 'corrupt' practices are not necessarily viewed as such by those who undertake them. Second, the failure of international organisation to factor in Caribbean history has resulted in ineffective systems being introduced to address issues of corruption in the Caribbean. The original contribution made by this thesis derives both from its contextualisation of corruption with reference to history and culture and the empirical detail provided by the case studies and fieldwork findings. The resulting reframing of the study of corruption in the Caribbean has important political and legal implications. Caribbean iii countries are continuously perceived as having high levels of corruption and are criticised for failing to implement what are deemed, by ‘outsiders’, to be appropriate ‘good governance’ arrangements. A core contention of this thesis is that if Caribbean countries are to meaningfully address corruption in modern times, it will only be possible to do so if the realities of the Caribbean history and it’s impact are recognised ̶ otherwise what has been done to the Caribbean in the past will continue to limit its scope to determine its own future.
| Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) |
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| Divisions: | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Histories, Languages and Cultures |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Jul 2022 14:30 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Jan 2023 21:04 |
| DOI: | 10.17638/03153488 |
| Supervisors: |
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| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3153488 |
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