No Island is an Island

Many of the speeches in this volume, delivered between the late 1980s and the late 1990s, reflect Sir Shridath Ramphal's concern for Caribbean unity, a concern which dates back to the short-lived Federation of the West Indies (1958-62). Those related to his role as Chair of the West Indian Commission provide an incisive commentary on both the urgent need for greater regional integration and the problems which lie in the way. But Ramphal is always aware of the Caribbean's position as part of a wider world, and brings a global perspective to his analysis of environmental and economic issues which affect all countries, but particularly those of the developing world, and to his discussion of the special problems of the small and vulnerable states of the Caribbean in a world increasingly dominated by large trading blocs.;