Democratic Socialism in Jamaica

Stephens, Evelyne Huber; Stephens, John D.

doi:10.1007/978-1-349-18173-5

Cited by 29 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The move, accompanied by increasingly militant rhetoric, caused alarm among American mine owners and their Washington, D.C. representatives. Manley did not bow to American pressure, however, and instead, in 1973, declared "democratic socialism" in Jamaica (Stephens and Stephens 1986).…”

Section: Democratic Socialism As Decolonizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although his government never sought a full nationalization of assets, its increasingly radical rhetoric and anti-imperialist stance antagonized local and foreign ruling classes. Many wealthy Jamaicans left the island with their capital, while investments and tourism revenues plummeted as a result of an orchestrated effort to portray Jamaica as unsafe on Western media outlets (Stephens and Stephens 1986).…”

Section: Crime and Counterrevolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Black Police Power: The Political Moment of the Jamaica Constabulary

Maoz

2022

Comp Stud Soc Hist

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Contemporary debates on policing trace the rise of “law and order” populism and police militarization to colonial histories and imperial boomerang effects. In a time marked by the renewed imperative “to decolonize,” however, few studies examine what decolonizing policing did or could look like in practice. This article draws on oral history narratives of Jamaican police officers to recover their ideas about transforming the colonial Jamaica Constabulary Force in the 1970s. Born out of black power mobilizations and under a democratic socialist government (1972–1980), police decolonization was viewed as part of broader transformative effort to rid the country of colonial inheritances in economics, culture, and politics. Jamaican policemen, radicalized since the early twentieth century, then began revising their social mandate and ask who the police should serve and protect. Ultimately, due to internal contradictions and external pressures, the experiment failed, giving rise to police populism and increased violence against black men and women in the ghettos. The episode reveals how populism emerges out of a failure of emancipatory campaigns and how radical critique can turn into ideological justification. It also highlights the need to distinguish between diverse, contradictory, and overlapping demands to decolonize societies and institutions today.

show abstract

Section: Democratic Socialism As Decolonizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Crime and Counterrevolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Black Police Power: The Political Moment of the Jamaica Constabulary

Maoz

2022

Comp Stud Soc Hist

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…80 In their account of Jamaica in the 1970s, Stephens and Stephens have argued that workers in patronage jobs believed that the job was a "quid pro quo for previous party work" and that "thus no additional work effort" was needed to justify holding it. 81 A 1971 commission investigating the allocation of Christmas work by the KSAC concluded that "little meaningful work was done" on gully cleaning projects. 82 But there is little evidence that throughout the post-independence period drainage work allocated on a partisan basis was routinely of substandard quality because workers saw it as a reward from their patrons for their party support rather than work.…”

Section: IIImentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although attempts were made to allow both parties to recommend workers for SEP projects, most work was allocated to people recommended by ruling-party MPs and councilors. 83 The JLP strongly condemned the allocation of work for SEP projects but did not abolish the SEP when it assumed power in 1980. As Stephens and Stephens have argued, doing so would have been "politically very costly," as JLP supporters expected a return for their party support after the election victory.…”

Section: IIImentioning

confidence: 99%

“…98 Prior to the 1972 election, the party had particularly attacked the JLP government on the issue of corruption, whether the allocation of public housing in West Kingston to party supporters or the corrupt use of office for personal financial gain. 99 Yet when it was in office, it reinforced rather than combatted a culture of corruption as work on the gullies illustrates. 100 In 1975, the KSAC awarded two contracts to repair the flood damage of the Lilford Gully to the gunman George Spence, better known as "Feather Mop," who had played an important role in the PNP election campaign in West St Catherine.…”

Section: IIImentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Politics of Infrastructure in Inner-City Communities in Kingston, Jamaica, From 1962 to 2020

Altink

2022

Journal of Urban History

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The “politics of infrastructure” reproduces inequality, leaving many urban residents without access to water, sanitation, and other basic services. Inner-city residents in Kingston, the capital of Jamaica, have long coped with poor drainage and waste collection that increases flood and health risks. Drawing upon a wide range of sources, this study examines how a system of patronage and partisan politics in Jamaica has helped to (re)produce this infrastructural deficit that has harmful effects on many inner-city residents, from independence in 1962 to the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, the busiest on record. In doing so, it will enhance understanding of the nature of Jamaican politics at the local level, highlighting that politics of the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC)—the municipal council—was marked by a continuous interaction between citizens, councilors, MPs, and civil servants, and that short-term jobs and contracts were the most important avenues of patronage

show abstract

Revisiting the exchange rate debate: the Jamaican experience

Atkins

2000

J. Int. Dev.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper examines the impact of exchange rate devaluation in an open island economy. By taking account of the non-stationarity of the variables, and identifying the consequent cointegrating relation, the long-run and short-run impacts are identi®ed. The results suggest a signi®cant and negative long-run elasticity of output in response to a devaluation of the real exchange rate. The short-run dynamics indicate that the real exchange rate makes fairly rapid adjustment when there is deviation from the long-run equilibrium relation. Such rapid response to any demand side shocks suggest that the Jamaican economy may be susceptible to Dutch Disease eects.

show abstract

Democratic Socialism in Jamaica

Cited by 29 publications

References 0 publications

Black Police Power: The Political Moment of the Jamaica Constabulary

Black Police Power: The Political Moment of the Jamaica Constabulary

The Politics of Infrastructure in Inner-City Communities in Kingston, Jamaica, From 1962 to 2020

Revisiting the exchange rate debate: the Jamaican experience

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About