This year, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) celebrated its 50th anniversary. One of the points noted by many commentators was how the balance of influence within Caricom appears to be shifting. In the past, Jamaica was the pre-eminent political power (it was Jamaica’s withdrawal that precipitated the end of the West Indies Federation in 1962), and Trinidad & Tobago was the dominant economic power. Now, on the political front, Barbados under Prime Minister Mia Mottley is wielding increasing power, not least on the international stage where she raised her profile with a barnstorming performance at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. It was this, and subsequent interventions, that prompted Jamaica’s The Gleaner to say in an editorial that “the region’s political and intellectual leadership has shifted decidedly to Barbados and its prime minister, Mia Mottley, a dedicated regionalist who appreciates Caricom’s potential in helping to drive the agenda of the Global South”. End of preview - This article contains approximately 779 words.
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