Feature Address at the launch of

Selected Essays on Contemporary Caribbean Issues:

An International Relations Perspective

by

Ambassador D. Brent Hardt

October 12, 2012

Honorable Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman

Commodore Gary Best

Dr. Mark Kirton

Dr. Marlon Anatol

Members of the Diplomatic Corps

Members of the Media

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am honored to be here with you this evening to help mark the

achievements of the first Guyanese cohort of Masters in Science in Global Studies

at the University of the West Indies. Let me extend my heartfelt congratulations to

the graduates and to their professors and mentors from the Institute of International

Relations at the University of the West Indies. I wish you continued success in

whatever course your professional life should take you. In today's interconnected

world, Guyana's future is inextricably linked to the international environment. To

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succeed, Guyana needs future leaders who understand the world and how to

advance Guyana's interests in an increasingly complex, globalized context.

That is why I am delighted to be part of the launch of "Selected Essays in

Contemporary Caribbean Issues: An International Relations Perspective," edited

by Dr. Marlon Anatol and Dr. Mark Kirton. This collection of original essays

offers valuable insights into some of the leading domestic and international

challenges facing Guyana, from the conduct of democratic elections and how to

harness the energies of young people to national development, to the impact of

climate change, the effectiveness of foreign assistance, and the implications and

opportunities of participation in regional groupings. The essays offer well-

researched analysis and useful information in a beautifully written and edited

forum for scholars and practitioners alike.

Having dabbled in academia during my years working on my doctoral thesis

on Jamaican foreign policy, I welcome the opportunity to offer a few thoughts

today drawing on the inspiration and perspectives provided by this collection of

essays. My own research on Jamaica sought to understand the unique challenges

and opportunities facing small Caribbean states, and the impact that a state's

conduct of foreign policy could have on its national development. I am pleased to

see that this research remains relevant today, for as Dr. Kirton notes in his

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introduction: "Although national, regional, and international programmes to

promote the development of small states such as Guyana have proliferated, the

factors that ensure success, and why they do so, remain in debate." What gives this

collection of essays particular relevance, is that they not only offer valuable

descriptive information, but, more importantly, prescriptive thoughts for how

Guyana can achieve its national development goals, strengthen its democracy, and

ensure its stability and security in a volatile world of natural and human

challenges.

When I looked at Jamaica’s post-independence foreign policies pursued by

both JLP and PNP governments from 1962 to the mid-1980s, I was struck by the

extent to which the right policies could have a positive impact and the wrong

policies could have a negative impact on national development. Small states in the

international system do have choices to make, and these choices matter. In the first

decade after Jamaica’s independence, its foreign policy was guided by a belief that

the country’s interests could best be advanced by pursuing markets, capital, and

technical expertise with predominantly traditional partners. Over this time,

Jamaica averaged 8 percent growth per year and enjoyed social and economic

stability, but still faced persistent social challenges. In the ensuing eight years of

PNP governance, Jamaica shifted gears, seeking major changes in the international

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system, developing new international alliances, aggressively challenging social

problems, downplaying the value of markets and capital, and sparking a major

exodus of educated and highly trained citizens. As a result, Jamaica’s GDP

declined every year from 1974 to 1980, its human talent emigrated in high

numbers, national debt exploded, and economic confidence was eroded.

The prescriptive lessons I gleaned from my research was that the best

foreign policy for small states is a pragmatic policy – one that avoids ideologically

rooted orientations, recognizes limits, and seeks to work within those limits to

attain specific, realistic national goals through the international system. In fact, I

was intrigued to hear Minister Rodrigues-Birkett make much the same point

yesterday in her remarks to the ECLAC report presentation when she observed that

the only 'ism" that matters in today's world for small states is "pragmatism."

The specific goals a country pursues may be political -- raising international

status or assuming positions of regional leadership – or economic – developing

new markets, seeking external financing or assistance for development goals, or

promoting more favorable policies from international institutions. But, in the end,

their attainment is likely to depend less on traditionally assumed factors of

influence such as natural resource base, military power, or location, than by sound

leadership, fiscal prudence, domestic stability and security, and a clear

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understanding of how to attract and support investment and new businesses while

identifying and seizing economic and social opportunities.

The other clear prescriptive outcome of my research was how inextricably

linked domestic and foreign policies are to each other: each can either reinforce or

undermine the other. Successful small states will seek to ensure they are working

in synch – that foreign policy will advance domestic objectives, and that domestic

policies will run parallel to and reinforce international objectives. This requires a

clear understanding of a country’s economic needs and how its international

engagement can advance or hinder them. A responsible, carefully calibrated

foreign policy consistent with internal needs can be an essential element of a

country’s drive to improve living standards, build social and economic

infrastructure, and strengthen democratic participation and national security. By

contrast, ideologically rooted policies out of synch with national needs can hinder

development, undermine economic growth and social progress, and increase

national dependence.

It is from this perspective of my own research that I found the collection of

essays assembled by Dr. Anatol and Dr. Kirton to be so valuable. The first essay

on Elections, Election Observation, and Monitoring by Ryan Kirton and Dr. Mark

Kirton brings a strong focus on the vital role of effective democratic institutions

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and practices to a country’s development. Only when all people in a country are

able to take part in governance can they enjoy the rights and freedoms that will

allow them to contribute in a meaningful way to national development. And, in

situations where democratic processes are fragile or mistrust persists, international

election monitors, they argue, can help strengthen democracy by boosting the

confidence of citizens in the outcomes.

Given that democracy “is ultimately about expanding human freedom and

potential,” it is only logical to assess, as Marlon Anatol does so effectively, how

best to tap into Guyana’s greatest economic resource – the energy, creativity, and

human potential of its young people. He rightly observes that, in Guyana, as

elsewhere in the region, there is a crisis among young people from economic and

social marginalization, limited job prospects, and violence, and that all of these

issues can undermine the strength of the region’s democracies. To counter these

worrying trends, Anatol posits that young people need to become more involved in

the political process, that governments need to earn their confidence by being

transparent and accountable, ensuring respect for the rule of law, and conveying a

sense of fairness for all. Such youth empowerment must go hand in hand with

greater economic opportunity through training and job skills development that is

adapted to market needs.

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 The Government of Guyana has made considerable strides in this area

through a number of innovative programs, and I am pleased that USAID has been

able to contribute to the goal of youth training and employment through President

Obama’s Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI). The Skills and Knowledge

for Youth Employment, or SKYE, program under CBSI is expanding education,

skill-building, and employment for at-risk youth with the goal of reducing youth

crime and violence by strengthening civic engagement and economic participation.

As Anatol observes, the issues facing young people need to be addressed with

urgency, within the framework of governance, inclusion, public trust, and

democracy. I was especially pleased to note that our program in fact followed

Anatol's suggestion that there be a "skills-needs analysis" to identify the most

critical areas for training. The initial results of that Labor market assessment were

shared with stakeholders last month. U.S. engagement on this issue, I believe,

highlights the potential contribution of international donors and a country's foreign

policy for addressing core domestic challenges.

The broader issue of the contribution of foreign aid to development is

thoughtfully addressed by Clement Henry, who traces Guyana's economic history

and how the role of foreign aid has shifted over time as Guyana's economic needs

have evolved. While concluding that there is no clear correlation between foreign

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aid and rates of economic growth, Henry does suggest that the environment created

by a country's policies is a critical factor in shaping the effectiveness of foreign

assistance. This is a vital point because foreign aid in most countries represents a

modest addition to investment and national resources. Its role is perhaps best seen

as seeking to encourage and shape the kinds of policies and investments that will

attract greater private investment and stimulate greater economic activity. Henry

convincingly concludes that for foreign aid to be effective, "it is imperative that

government foster a political climate that engenders confidence among all local

stakeholder groups [by] . . . adhering to democratic principles, making public

administration more participatory and transparent, and providing opportunities for

the poor to improve their lots." He also calls on the Government to continue

implementing structural reforms, strengthen institutional capacity, take steps to

retain skilled personnel, and encourage greater Diaspora engagement in the

country's development. Finally, Henry concludes that "the main task of policy

makers is to provide an investment climate conducive to public, domestic, and

foreign private investment" though macroeconomic stability, efficient institutions,

and adequate physical and social infrastructure.

As I consider our own assistance to Guyana in the context of this analysis, I

note that our approach has evolved from major project aid such as the Soesdyke-

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Linden Highway and PL 480 food support to our very successful economic growth

activities through the Guyana Trade and Investment Support (GTIS) project, public

health investments under PEPFAR to boost Guyana's capacity to meet the

HIV/AIDS epidemic, support for democracy and governance, and, more recently,

efforts to help create new opportunities for at-risk youth. Our programs have

succeeded in strengthening critical institutions, including the Ministry of Trade,

Bureau of Standards, the Guyana Forestry Commission, the Ministry of Health, the

Guyana Elections Commission, the Electoral Assistance Bureau and many more.

We have partnered to boost non-traditional exports in agriculture, tourism, forestry

products, and fisheries through a value chain development approach. We have

provided care and treatment to thousands of people affected with HIV/AIDS and

developed new systems for managing the supply of medicines. And, we have

strengthened democratic political processes, the growth of civil society, and

enhanced the rule of law.

All of this suggests that purely economic metrics may miss the broader value

of foreign assistance in supporting the development of policy, institutional, and

human capacity frameworks needed to boost national development. How do you

measure the investment that comes in because elections are peaceful? How do you

measure the economic contributions of people whose lives have been saved from

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HIV treatments or infections presented? The issues are complex, and do not lend

themselves easily to mathematical analysis. Rather, it suggests to me that the most

vital contribution that can be made by foreign aid is to boost human capacity,

encourage policy reform, and strengthen institutions of governance.

In recent decades, the issue of climate change has moved from the margins

to the center of international attention and is proving both a challenge and

opportunity for domestic development. Commodore Gary Best and Bonita Marissa

Lowden offer two complementary analyses of the importance of climate change

issues for Guyana's development and its foreign policy. Commodore Best focuses

on the rise of Global Environmental governance, its shortcomings, and its

implications for Guyana, offering food for thought for the Government of Guyana

as it seeks to navigate these evolving structures and systems to advance its

innovative Low Carbon Development Strategy. His essay also serves to remind

the international community of the critical importance of meeting climate

commitments if we are to meet the climate change challenge. Lowden calls on

Guyana to build on its already impressive global advocacy on REDD-plus and its

LCDS to take an even greater lead role in global advocacy. Only through vigorous

engagement, she suggests, can Guyana ensure that vulnerable countries' risks are

addressed and their mitigation roles appropriately compensated. Lowden

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effectively makes the important point that Guyana's international LCDS advocacy

must be reinforced by a domestic development strategy that actively promotes

sustainable development: "Foreign policy and domestic policies must be linked in

order to establish effective climate change. . ." she rightly concludes.

We are pleased that here, too, the United States has been able to play a

strategic role in assisting the Guyana Forestry Commission to develop its capacity

for monitoring, reporting and verification and to develop a National Forest

Inventory as part of its implementation of the REDD-plus initiative. The LCDS is

clearly an area where Guyana is playing and will continue to play a leading role on

the world stage as it seeks to build support for its own and other efforts to mitigate

climate change.

The final three essays in this collection raise issues of Guyana's international

alignments and the role of regional cooperation and integration in national

development and foreign policy. These essays seek to assess the relative value of

both traditional and new regional groupings, specifically CARICOM and

UNASUR, and offer valuable perspectives on the future of Guyana's engagement

in regional integration efforts. Noting Guyana's longstanding activism in regional

integration, Hugh Todd seeks to assess opportunities available to Guyana both in

traditional regional institutions of CARICOM and the Caribbean Single Market

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and Economy (CSME) as well as in the Union of South American Nations

(UNASUR). While noting that CARIFTA had originally boosted intra-regional

trade by 300 percent, he notes that the CSME has not achieved desired goals

because of limitations on the region's competitiveness in many sectors and the

small size of Caribbean markets overall. He therefore sees in UNASUR the

potential for Guyana to link with much larger markets, to integrate with a dynamic

continent, and to mitigate border tensions that have inhibited Guyana's

development.

Clinton Urling, while noting Guyana's commitment to both CARICOM and

UNASUR, questions whether engagement with either grouping is likely to achieve

the desired economic gains. Developing an innovative model for assessing the

effectiveness of regional cooperation that includes factors such as gains from trade,

complementarity of trade flows, potential for foreign direct investment and

oversight institutions to monitor and enforce commitments, Urling sees

CARICOM's success rate as "strikingly low" with the bloc performing poorly on

his array of indicators. While engagement with UNASUR is substantively

different from the functional and institutional commitments embodied in

CARICOM, it, too, poses challenges from a low demand for Guyana's exports in

UNASUR countries, a lack of structure and enforcement mechanisms, and a lack

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of focus for the organization's diverse goals. Despite these limitations, Urling

boldly proposes that Guyana "abandon the CARICOM project” and focus its

attention and resources on UNASUR. This recommendation is certain to generate

a lively debate, especially in the face of ongoing efforts to revitalize CARICOM

and strengthen Caribbean regional integration.

While the United States is not a member of either organization, we welcome

the various regional groupings that have emerged and the signal they send for

greater integration among countries in the region. We certainly believe that

Caribbean countries can benefit from closer regional cooperation, both within the

Caribbean sub-region and the Hemisphere as a whole. We have worked

successfully with CARICOM to advance President Obama's Caribbean Basin

Security Initiative, and CARICOM IMPACS -- despite its recent challenges -- has

emerged as a vital partner to coordinate effective regional security strategies,

training, and security cooperation. We are working with CARICOM's public

health units CARPHA and PANCAP to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS,

tuberculosis, and other diseases in the region. We regularly sit down to discuss

trade issues that affect the region as a whole, and have supported CARICOM's

ability to negotiate regional trade initiatives. And, we have worked closely with

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CARICOM to respond to Haiti's needs following the devastating earthquake in

2010.

To me, the core assessment that countries need to make in evaluating

regional and even bilateral associations is one of values: does a given organization

and its member states reflect the values that one's nation holds dear? In the case of

Guyana, that would encompass values such as respect for democracy, the rule of

law, religious and racial tolerance, free markets, equality, and respect for human

rights. Certainly CARICOM reflects and embodies those values, and UNASUR

also speaks to its desire to strengthen democracy, eliminate inequality, and achieve

social inclusion.

When a nation's foreign policy diverts from those values, it is often quickly

apparent to the citizens of the nation. Recently we witnessed a vigorous debate

within Guyana following a decision to abstain from a critical UN general

Assembly Resolution condemning Syria for its indiscriminate use of heavy

weapons in civilian areas and other violations of human rights -- a resolution

supported by over 130 countries including regional counterparts such as Jamaica,

Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Grenada, as well as major UNASUR members

such as Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, and those countries closest to the situation --

the entire Arab League. For most people in Guyana, such a position seemed to run

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counter to what one letter writer described as "the sensibilities of freedom-loving

Guyanese people." Again, the theme of the compatibility between domestic and

foreign policies is clear.

President Ramotar, speaking yesterday at the launch of the ECLAC

publication on Structural Change and Equality, observed: "We always argued that

it is impossible for us to have sustained economic and social development unless

we have a strong democracy." He added that his government continues to try to

strengthen and deepen democracy and establish legislative and institutional

frameworks to protect fundamental human rights. This argument truly does reflect

the values of the Government and people of Guyana that I have experienced. As

President Ramotar prepares to visit Cuba next week, Guyana would be well

represented if he brought these same values to the fore in his discussions. Just as it

is impossible for Guyana to enjoy sustained economic and social development

without a strong democracy, the same applies to all other Caribbean people as well,

including the Cuban people. I have always believed that the countries of the

English-speaking Caribbean have such a vibrant expression of democratic

elections, labor unions, freedom of expression and association, and respect for the

rule of law to share with their Cuban friends, but they have been bashful in sharing

their experiences and encouraging support for those same values with others.

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 So as you can see, this intriguing volume has certainly stimulated my

thinking on how changes in the global and regional environment are affecting

Guyana. I applaud all the authors for the quality of their research and the engaging

and compelling presentation of their analyses. This truly is a readable and thought-

provoking collection, which I commend to all who are interested in how Guyana's

foreign policy is contributing and can continue to contribute to building a secure,

prosperous, and democratic Guyana as part of a dynamic and evolving Caribbean

region.

Thank you.

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