Policy space under a constraining combination – open economies, austerity and small island states

Evaluations in the English-Speaking Commonwealth Caribbean Region: Lessons From the Field

“…This need to prove equivalency has also impacted the general desire to demonstrate success in as many projects or initiatives as possible, especially within the public administration. Finally, many public administrators are distrustful of outsiders who come into the region to judge their work, often pointing out the lack of comprehension of and/or sensitization to their unique experiences and circumstances (Dagher, 2019). As is noted further on, this aspect plays an important role in how people in the region perceive and respond to international evaluators.…”

“…As such, outcomes of projects, programs, and policies are often impacted by a myriad of variables, which in turn impact another set of variables. As a result, this significant level of openness has had an impact on the economic stability of these countries (Bowen, 2017;Dagher, 2019;Elu, 2000). Finally, each member of the IMF has to go through the Fund's Article Four Review or "Surveillance" process of a country's economic and financial situation, one which ensures that "the views of the global community and the lessons of international experience are brought to bear on national policies" (IMF, 2019, para.…”

“…3). The process itself and the subsequent prescriptions provided by these actors play a significant role in the development of economic policies in the countries in question (Dagher, 2019). Consequently, given that many of these countries have entered into loan agreements with regional banks and The World Bank and into fiscal agreements with the IMF, these countries and the major banks and financial institutions are not as open to accepting or admitting failure (Chang, 2011;Mayer, 2009).…”

“…In doing so, it can also help contribute to efforts that are meant to increase the population's trust in and their potential engagement with their state. However, as several interviewees have noted, the chances of success of all these factors are also significantly impacted by the influence of external funders and their willingness to look beyond issues related to success and failure, to reassess their approaches and funding based on the findings or learning opportunities that these evaluations offer, and allow these countries a more independent policy space (Dagher, 2019). Several evaluators noted the impact of the willingness to admit failure by the various external funders on the ability and willingness of the ESCC stakeholders to offer a truthful assessment and accept negative evaluations results.…”

From the plantation to the deep blue sea: Naturalising debt, ordinary disasters, and postplantation ecologies in the Caribbean

“…Further, Caribbean public actors have accepted debt under ‘blue economy’ arrangements as an ordinary measure or ‘natural law’ 4 of postcolonial statehood, which creates what Sylvia Wynter refers to as ‘extrahumanly’ determined relationships within an ‘archipelago of Human Otherness’ (2003, p. 271, 321). While debt is well appreciated in Caribbean scholarship (Bonilla, 2020; Dagher, 2019; Gahman et al, 2021; Gahman & Thongs, 2019; Girvan, 2017a; Hudson, 2017; Lewis, 2020; Sealey‐Huggins, 2017; Sheller, 2018), external and regional actors reinscribe it with new functions to respond to twin effects of natural disasters and fiscal crisis.…”