The Institutional Discourse of Development: The postcolonial condition and the case of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)

Sammanfattning: Using a discourse analysis, the thesis will examine the impact of the postcolonial condition and the desire for integration in the institutional framing of human development reports, policies and programs. Three levels will be used to contextualize the Caribbean expression of human development. First, the international level will be represented by the UNDP, central organ of the international development engine to provide the context of the international discourse. Then, regional and national levels with a case study of Barbados and Haiti will be investigated and evaluate to what extent does the postcolonial condition and identity enable the regional integration into the international development discourse. The paper seeks to verify empirically the Postcolonial criticism of development and produce IR Postcolonial empirical research on discourses to voice the Caribbean experiences. I argue that the region does not produce a counter-discourse to development and reject the claim that the postcolonial condition/subjectivity is an obstacle the use of the international development framework in the postcolonial Caribbean. To support my position, the notion of identity will be assessed highlighting the references to a regional identity put forward the unity of the region. The thesis will conclude that the attempt to foster a regional Caribbean identity is weaken by the ambivalence of the postcolonial subjectivity and the desire for integration.