Paper Example on State and Its Role in the Caribbean Society

Introduction

Caribbean is a region comprising of numerous countries that have distinct climate, natural attributes, and political systems. In the Caribbean society, the state plays numerous roles including establishing and maintaining secure, peaceful, friendly, and stable conditions. However, the state is under the threat in terms of governance. Crime has also threatened the economic and political stability of state in the Caribbean region. In particular, drug trafficking in Caribbean islands especially in Haiti fosters corruption in judicial systems, increases trafficking of weapons, increases insecurity, and discourages investment and tourism thus lowers economic growth of the region. Therefore, despite the critical roles that state plays in the Caribbean society, it is still under the threat of poor governance and crime

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Overview of Caribbean Society

Permanently affected by slavery and colonialism, the Caribbean has formed numerous communities that have distinctive population compositions (Beckles, & Shepherd, 1993). It is located on less densely settled areas bordering the United States. Discovered in the year 1492 by Christopher Columbus, Caribbean was invaded by the Europeans, especially Americans. Later, Portuguese and Spaniards entered the region, and this sharply interfered with the pattern of historical growth. Similarly, it adversely changed their physical environment by introducing new epidemic disorders and fresh foods. Currently, the Caribbean society is the product of several years of slavery and European colonial policies. As the plantation settlers, the residents were forcibly changed to fulfill the political, economic, and strategic aims of (Caulkins, Burnett, & Leslie, 2009).

Understanding the State and Its Roles in the Caribbean Society

State refers to collections of human beings who occupy a given territory where the demand of the majority is made to prevail against the minority (Emmanuel, 1993). It also refers to the compulsory political organization that comprises of a centralized government responsible for controlling the legal applications of force in a given geographical area. Traditionally, the state was charged with establishing and maintaining secure, peaceful, friendly, and stable conditions in the Caribbean society (Emmanuel, 1993). It was also responsible for preventing harsh foreign powers from constructing military facilities and bases. Moreover, it participated in ensuring that there is balance in power struggles in the Caribbean society. Most importantly, it assured countries within the Caribbean region access to essential raw materials, investment opportunities, trade, and transportation routes. The state's industrial push during the post-war period encompassed intensive investments in the Caribbean's social, physical, and organizational infrastructure. To fulfill the growing residential and commercial demands, the state expanded electricity, water, transportation, and communication systems in the Caribbean society. It also stressed the need to offer better social services such as educational and medical facilities.

The state performs a legislative or lawmaking role where it acts as the regulator and provider of laws and bill of economic exchange. For a long time, the state has provided the Caribbean society with substantive regulations and legislation on the content of financial transactions including import controls, labor laws among others (Emmanuel, 1993). With the drastic change from public to private delivery of services and goods in the recent past, scholars have revealed that the role of the state has changed from being a direct provider of public assets to a regulator, managing competition processes in a bid to ensure fair market practices, controlling privatized firms and preventing monopolistic patterns and behaviors.

Within Caribbean society, the state governs the region's economy using monetary and fiscal policies. In particular, it establishes the rate of taxes that every citizen should pay and participates in public expenditure to control the demand and supply. Using monetary policies, the state sets interest rates and thus influences exchange and inflation rates (Lewis, 2004). Moreover, the state establishes trading policy in the Caribbean society as it dictates the nature of products passing through the borders. To achieve this, the state uses quotas, capital controls, production rules, tariffs, international promotions among others to control exports and imports.

In the Caribbean society, the state plays the role of interdicting narcotics trafficking and other illegal substances (Wint, 1998). As the entry and exit points for smuggling narcotics to the US and other parts of the world by foreign peddlers, Caribbean islands have been a significant concern to the state and island governments. In essence, the logistics of interdicting drugs in the Caribbean society are quite complex, and thus the state law enforcement agencies together with the Caribbean governments, especially those of Jamaica and Bahamas have partnered to eradicate drug trafficking within the region (Rodgers, 1999). In particular, all of the military help to the Caribbean society is presently aimed at fighting foreign drug peddlers. The state has agreed with Caribbean islands on how to undertake joint action against drug peddlers by creating a general coast guard surveillance program. They have decided to carry out joint drug interdiction training intended to occupy some sea- lanes majorly used by narcotics traffickers.

Is Caribbean Society Under Threat?

Yes, I believe that Caribbean society is under threat of poor governance and crime. Although the central civil society freedoms of assembly, association, and expression are legally recognized in most Caribbean islands, administrative, legal, and de facto obstacles, as well as, exercising these freedoms has been a daunting task in the region. These restrictions imply that the Caribbean society is under threat because its space in the civil society is decreasing. Principally, most of the risks to Caribbean society are due to webs of corruption that satisfies the interests of politicians and other public officials against private entities.

Caribbean society is also under threat of high rates of violence and crime that impede economic growth, human welfare, as well as, social development. In most cases, crime affects businesses and is the principal barrier to investment. In this society, as crime rates increase, access to financers and sponsors decreases (Montalvo-Barbot, 1997). At the same time, informal and formal security measures declines and the productivity of workers decreases. Scholars suggest that lowering the homicide rates within the Caribbean society by one third could double the regions per capita growth.

Drug peddling is one of the crimes that threatened economic and political stability of the Caribbean society. Various islands within the Caribbean society are the entry points of illegal drugs. For instance, illegal drug trafficking in common in Haiti and it encompasses trans-shipment of marijuana and cocaine to the US (Griffith, 2010). The country is one of the leading shipment routes. The island of Hispaniola that Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic put Haiti in a strategic location for drug trafficking between Puerto Rico and Colombia. Due to the fact, Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the US. The shipment usually is not subjected to US customs inspection once they arrive at the border. Other drugs such as cocaine are often trafficked directly from Haiti to Miami using freighters

Narcotic peddling is an issue to Haiti's government because it affects its ability to fight international narcotics trafficking alone. Undeniably, the almost unhindered flow of narcotics through Haiti violates the rule of law and the legality of Haiti's government. At the same time, it fosters corruption in the courts, police, fuels trafficking of weapons, funds armed gangs, breeds insecurity, and lowers economic growth by discouraging tourism and investment. Because of the stated detrimental effects, different institutions of the Haitian state can assist to curb narcotics trafficking. One of such bodies is the Haitian Coast Guard, and Counternarcotic Unit carries out active surveillance of the national maritime areas to ensure adherence to the regulations and laws and participates in the fight against narcotic peddling.

In Haiti, narcotic peddling channels criminal justice resources from other critical activities, escalates and embeds conflicts, undermines social cohesion and drives widespread availability and accessibility of firearms within the region. The findings of the study revealed that violence and crime are a threat to developmental issues in Haiti. Therefore, donors together with OECD states should work closely with the Caribbean islands to minimize present rates within the community. Some of the significant factors that make Caribbean society vulnerable to violence and crime entail drug peddling and trafficking of unlicensed weapons (Griffith, 2010). Therefore, drug trade and peddling of firearms need a response that surpasses national and regional boundaries.

While there is no specific approach for preventing violence and crime, interventions including youth development initiatives, slum upgrading projects, as well as, changes in the criminal justice system can contribute to lowering violence and crime within the Caribbean society. As already discussed, the Caribbean islands are entry and exit points to illegal drugs. Therefore, interdiction should be completed by other approaches outside the area. One of such strategies entails demand reduction in consumer states and elimination or alternative growth in producer states.

Although it is difficult to reduce gun ownership in Caribbean society, better firearm registries, marking, monitoring, and interdictions in harbors can assist in ensuring that firearms are possessed only by responsible and those without any criminal record. Moreover, policies need to concentrate on restricting the accessibility and availability of firearms and on offering essential options to youths.

Injuries and deaths emanating from youth violence contribute a significant threat to public health, economic and social development across the Caribbean society. In most Caribbean islands, youths are unreasonably represented in the positions of both perpetrators and victims of violence and crime (Rodgers, 1999). On the same note, while the average deportee in the Caribbean society hardly engages in criminal activity, a minority may cause severe challenges both by direct engagement in crime and by offering an obstinate role model for the teenagers. As such, there is a need to provide more services to incorporate deportees with the deporting nations paying for the expenses associated with these programs.

Conclusion

The Caribbean society involves countries with distinct culture and ethnic backgrounds. Due to threats such as crime and governance that hinder political, social, and economic growth of Caribbean society, the state should impart justice and safeguard people against such social evils. Secondly, there is need to increase region's investment in preventing crime using different approaches such as integrated citizen security initiatives, crime prevention via environmental design, as well as, a public health strategy that concentrates on risk factors for undesirable behaviors.

References

Beckles, H., & Shepherd, V. (1993). Caribbean freedom: society and economy from emancipation to the present. James Currey.

Caulkins, J. P., Burnett, H., & Leslie, E. (2009). How illegal drugs enter an island country: insights from interviews with incarcerated smugglers. Global Crime, 10(1-2), 66-93.

Emmanuel, P. (1993). Go...