How Barbados Became a Caribbean Power

Sun soaked; rum soaked; fringed by palms and golden beaches. Barbados is a Caribbean island that stirs up all the stereotypes one associates with this region. You picture pirates, rum runners and European explorers travelling around the coast and as you walk through Bridgetown you can almost hear calypso music in the streets. This is a romanticised image of the Caribbean, but one that I myself had as I moved through the island. But this image is critical to Barbados because it forms the foundation of the island’s soft power; the concept of global influence that has made it a modern Caribbean power.

The Caribbean is not a region short of cultural icons. Cuba is imbued with nostalgia and travelers flock to the island to indulge in one of the world’s last communist states. Castro’s image looms large over the nation and images of Cuba become more photogenic at every corner. Alternatively there is Jamaica, an island whose global image will forever be entwined with reggae, Bob Marley and Rastafarian culture. Jamaica, because of Cuba’s political isolation, had fallen into the role of a regional leader. It was a nation whose culture and soft power were unrivaled in the world, but within the last few years Barbados has risen high in the global conscience and arguably has replaced Jamaica as a modern soft power.

Soft power has allowed Barbados to achieve a dominance that neither military might or political influence could ever achieve. But identifying what is the root of the island’s soft power is complex.

(Above: The harbour at Bridgetown, the economic and political heart of Barbados)

One of the biggest contributing factors is music. For many music may be considered a trivial thing, but in the modern world it is one of the few cultural traditions that can reach all parts of the world and it can symbolise a nation’s global influence. Music has played a core part of Britain’s rise to become the world’s leading soft power nation; Adele, One Direction, Mumford & Sons and numerous others have helped to define the modern British state and within the Caribbean Jamaica’s dominance was largely down to the global influence of reggae music.

As Bob Marley came to define Jamaica in the 20th century, so Bajan musical figures have helped define Barbados in the 21st century. Cover Drive, Shontelle and most famously Rihanna have been catalysts for Barbados’s new-found cultural dominance. These artists have put Barbados on the map, acting as cultural ambassadors for the island. With Rihanna as its poster girl, Barbados has taken on the cultural prominence that Jamaica has developed with Bob Marley and reggae music. Her international success cemented Bajan culture in the minds of the global population and subsequent success by her contemporaries has confirmed the island’s cultural strength and pushed Barbados further in the soft power rankings. This has also helped it to success against its regional rivals; whereas Jamaica has relied on a cultural image iconic to generations past, Barbados is represented by figures enjoying success today.

(Above: Throughout Barbados there are constant reminders of the island’s link to Britain. Towns are often named after places in the UK, such as Worthing, which is on the British south coast.)

This cultural soft power, however, has also been backed up by the economic development and safety and security that the island enjoys. Unlike Jamaica, Barbados does not have connotations of violence and crime, and this has brought the tourists back to Barbados again and again. Tourists come to the island not simply seeking the Bajan culture that has been portrayed so widely across the globe, but also the security that this island can offer over many other nations within the Caribbean. Most importantly, however, is the way Barbados has generated an image of being a slice of the Caribbean to suit everybody. Its colonial links to the UK make it feel like familiar to the British and Europeans alike, whilst its modern culture has adopted much from the United States. This has resulted in a Barbados that is accessible and one in which any visitor, from any nation, can indulge in a form of Caribbean cosmopolitanism.

(Above: Barbados not only offers culture, but also a slice of the Caribbean ideal that all tourists here seek)

Whereas Jamaica and Cuba have such unique identities Barbados has attempted to push a new concept of the Caribbean; one of the cosmopolitan Caribbean and yet it has sought to retain Bajan traditions at the heart of life. With this concept making waves across the world, all of Barbados is aware that eyes are focusing on this island. With Rihanna and her contemporaries continuing to push on strength by strength it looks like Barbados will continue to grow economically, politically and as a soft power state. With music, history and the Bajan lifestyle at its core Barbados has risen and will continue to rise to become a true Caribbean power.

By Peter Banham

The Caribbean of the Future: What is In Store for these Islands?

With Jamaica celebrating fifty years of independence this week and success for Caribbean states within the Olympics the world’s attention is focused on this collection of small island states. Famed for their idyllic landscapes and vibrant, colorful and laid back culture these islands has entranced foreign travelers from around the world.

However beyond tourism and Caribbean stereotypes the region is currently involved in fierce politically debates assessing its current world position and whether it can take a leading role in its own global affairs. Politically the region is noted as a region that still, in many cases, represents the colonial environment that existed several hundred years ago. The UK, France, Netherlands and the USA all have control over islands in the region and continue to administer them in the same way they have for centuries; with a Governor who reports directly to the executive power in the respective country.  But fundamentally these states often are politically isolated from the electoral process that determines the leader in their controlling nation.

However beyond the continued colonial presence in the region many former colonies still bear the hallmarks of colonial rule with linguistic ties, political and judicial links and a shared social identity typified by migration. Jamaica is one of the best examples of the current political scenario for many Caribbean nations.

It gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1962 but remained a member of the Commonwealth and because of this retains the British monarch, Elizabeth II, as the Head of State. This intrinsically ties the Caribbean nation with its former colonial power, Britain, and this pattern is extended across many independent nations within the Caribbean, including the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent & the Grenadines. Often tied into these political links is a complex colonial heritage that sees ultimate judicial power vested in London, where the court of appeal for many Caribbean nations exists.

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the court of appeal for most of the Commonwealth nations in the Caribbean and thus, despite these countries achieving independence, the continues to exist with a judicial structure that provides Britain with ultimate power, 50 years after it left the region. This has understandably caused many problems in the Caribbean and an alternative Caribbean Court of Justice was established, although the realization and adoption of this as a new court of appeals has been a slow process.

However it is not just the old colonial powers who are the only influences in the Caribbean. Its geographical location has meant that it has become a sub-region of North America and is also often grouped as part of Latin America. In either region it is the lesser partner, subject to the political and social constructs of the larger nations in either region. Countries, such as Cuba and Antigua & Barbuda, have close links with Venezuela due political alliances (Antigua & Barbuda is part of ALBA, an organization led by Venezuela) and other are influenced by the great power to the North, the USA, that dominates both the social and economic landscapes in the Caribbean. For many economic development in the Caribbean is hampered as attention is focused on the much larger countries on the mainland, including the USA and Mexico, one of the world’s fastest growing economies.

But the Caribbean is attempting to break out of the influence of others and the starting point may be the cultural stereotype that beyond everything else marks out the Caribbean from its neighbours. This stereotype, combined with the natural beauty of the region, has meant that tourism continues to be the bedrock of this region, and understandably development of this industry is considered key to future development. However the people in power are looking at a more sustainable and cultural beneficial tourism industry; one that avoids the mass tourism that is characteristic of many boom and bust tourist regions. Examples of this new development include plans in Jamaica to preserve and develop Port Royal, once the centre of pirating in the Caribbean, in order to build a sustainable industry to attract tourists and boost development in the local area.

In addition many in the Caribbean are taking regional politics and economics into their own hands, using mutual support and unity across the region to ensure a stronger voice for the island states. CARICOM is still the main forum for Caribbean interests however the next decades could see greater development within other regional bodies, such as the Association of Caribbean Nations and the Caribbean Development Bank, that would further the political and economic development of Caribbean.

However with such heavy influence from powers all around and the fact that as islands they continue to be small countries with elatively little influence on world affairs, maybe analysts believe that they will struggle to dictate their own futures, without reference to the leading world powers. For the Caribbean to move forward it must first take control of its own judicial process, although cultural and social links with former colonies would continue to benefit these nations, and then look to continue their personal economic development, using tourism as a bedrock. By taking this advantage Caribbean islands could do what other small states around the world have done punch above their weight in world politics.

If they can take hold of their own affairs and work together as a region, as Jamaica’s motto states “Out of Many, One People”, then the vibrant Caribbean may have a very bright future.

By Peter Banham