The Power of Social Movements and the Limits of Pluralism: Tracing Rastafarianism and Indigenous Resurgence through Commonwealth Caribbean Law and Culture

Abstract

In the post-colonial era, social movements in the Commonwealth Caribbean have empowered citizens to reclaim, redefine and further develop their identity. These movements, combined with a history of colonialism and transatlantic slavery in the region, have yielded a Caribbean culture “too diverse to be labeled.” Indeed, the Caribbean culture is composed of “a bastion of discrete identities as well as quarries of very invaluable raw material that can be used to build the bridges across cultural boundaries.” These distinct but potentially overlapping identities make the Commonwealth Caribbean a truly pluralistic region, at least at the cultural and social level. As modern legal and political systems, however, the states of the Commonwealth Caribbean have, in many ways, failed to sufficiently protect the non-dominant groups within Caribbean. Indeed, attempts to balance the majoritarian demands of democracy against the pluralist notion of minority rights protection have landed largely on the side of majorities.

Between Maroon Tradition and State Law in Jamaica: A Case Study of Challenges to Environmental Governance in a UNESCO World Heritage Site

“…The Caribbean region is pluralistic from both cultural and legal perspectives due to the characteristics of colonizers as contrasted with the enslaved and indentured servants that they brought with them (Becker, 2015). While the Caribbean's cultural pluralism is typically celebrated from a travel and tourism standpoint, the legal pluralism evidenced by various forms of Indigenous and Afro-centric laws have been approached cautiously by Caribbean states as well as scholars Disclaimer/Publisher's Note: The statements, opinions, and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s).…”

“…2 (Becker, 2015). This is because of the complexities arising from legal and cultural pluralism under which both the state and local peoples have legitimate claims to governance of natural resource management, which stand alongside the cultural pluralism, and which constitutes a legacy of the cultural conflict of the historical plantation.…”

“…Maroon societies in the BJCM established their own system of rights to land and rules for natural resource management and they continue to reflect broad Indigenous knowledge regarding the use of medicinal herbs, agricultural methods and fishing techniques (Becker, 2015). The establishment of the customary rights and regulations in Maroon societies would eventually be formally recognized by European colonizers, and later the Jamaican state.…”

Between Maroon Tradition and State Law in Jamaica: A Case Study of Challenges to Environmental Governance in a UNESCO World Heritage Site

“…The Caribbean region is pluralistic from both cultural and legal perspectives due to the characteristics of colonizers, as contrasted with the enslaved and indentured servants that they brought with them Becker, 2015 (136-164) [1]. While the Caribbean's cultural pluralism is typically celebrated from a travel and tourism standpoint, the legal pluralism evidenced by various forms of Indigenous and Afro-centric laws has been approached cautiously by Caribbean states as well as scholars [1] Becker, 2015 (136-164).…”

“…The Caribbean region is pluralistic from both cultural and legal perspectives due to the characteristics of colonizers, as contrasted with the enslaved and indentured servants that they brought with them Becker, 2015 (136-164) [1]. While the Caribbean's cultural pluralism is typically celebrated from a travel and tourism standpoint, the legal pluralism evidenced by various forms of Indigenous and Afro-centric laws has been approached cautiously by Caribbean states as well as scholars [1] Becker, 2015 (136-164). This is because of the complexities arising from legal and cultural pluralism, under which both the state and local peoples have legitimate claims to the governance of natural resource management, which stand alongside cultural pluralism, and which constitute a legacy of the cultural conflict of the historical plantation.…”