A Caribbean perspective on China–Caribbean relations: global IR, dependency and the postcolonial condition

Abstract

The field of global international relations remains to a great extent aspirational and focussed on the critique of Western-centric perspectives or the appraisal of non-Western theories within their specific geographical and historical contexts. In this essay, we go a step further and transpose a set of Caribbean-based theories that gained prominence in the 1960s and 1970s to apply it to the study of China's contemporary relations with the Caribbean Community, drawing broader implications for China's Belt and Road Initiative. The Caribbean's tradition of critical and radical thought raises important questions about continuing epistemic dependency, structural impediments to development in small and highly open states, and a number of unresolved issues relating to the postcolonial condition in former plantation societies. Drawing upon these insights, we contend that the expectations placed on the emerging 'South-South' link with China are easily overstated, given China's elitist business-centric approach to development, the eschewing of participatory approaches in Sino-Caribbean ventures and the passive incorporation of the Caribbean into China's global vision.

Why a critical geopolitics cannot be Confucian

“…I am very inclined to agree that non-Western thought should gain a more prominent position in the study of geopolitics, and that cultural geopolitical differences deserve closer consideration. In my own work with Annita Montoute, we have for example revisited critical Caribbean development thought to study the Belt and Road Initiative (Gonzalez-Vicente and Montoute, 2021). Others have studied development through the lenses of Buen Vivir or Ubuntu philosophies.…”

Rethinking the Rise of China: A Postcolonial Critique of China and a Chinese Critique of the Postcolonial

“…17 For the Tibetan Unrest and the subsequent self-immolations, see Smith, 2010;McGranahan & Litzinger, 2012;Makley, 2015;and Whalen-Bridge, 2015; for the Xinjiang riots and the "Uyghur problem" (see Bovingdon, 2010;Roberts, 2020; for the "troubled" Hong Kong and Taiwan identities and problems for the CCP; see Chun A., 1996Chun A., , 2017Dirlik, 2018;Harrison, 2006;He M., 2019;Pang, 2020). 18 The perceptions of the rise of China, or images of China, are multifold and divergent in the Global South and the world, ranging from a promise and opportunity for regional and global development and security to fears about a new hegemony (see, for instance, Armony, 2012;Gonzalez-Vicente & Montoute, 2021;Schoeman, 2007;Shih, 2013; see also Shambaugh, 2013;Toje, 2018). Arguably, the Covid-19 pandemic offers an extraordinary standpoint to observe these diverse images but especially a growing uneasiness about the rise of China in other parts of the world.…”

“…18 18 The perceptions of the rise of China, or images of China, are multifold and divergent in the Global South and the world, ranging from a promise and opportunity for regional and global development and security to fears about a new hegemony (see, for instance, Armony, 2012; Gonzalez‐Vicente & Montoute, 2021; Schoeman, 2007; Shih, 2013; see also Shambaugh, 2013; Toje, 2018). Arguably, the Covid‐19 pandemic offers an extraordinary standpoint to observe these diverse images but especially a growing uneasiness about the rise of China in other parts of the world. …”

The great powers in Central America: US response to Chinese activities in the region

“…One of the latest articles on the China–Taiwan diplomatic rivalry in South America was recently published by Long and Udinez (2021). Gonzales‐Vicente and Montoute (2020) also cover these relations. Matt Ferchen (2021) discusses the Chinese presence in Latin America, mainly through the BRI.…”