Project Overview

The countries of the Caribbean face formidable political, economic, social and security challenges as they approach the 21st century. In the post-Cold War context their strategic location no longer results in significant financial support from extra-regional powers. In addition, the trend towards globalization of the world economy, reduction of trade barriers and formal consolidation of trading blocks creates both opportunities and significant adjustment problems for the region's
economies.

The Caribbean area is seldom regarded as a regional system, in part because its past fragmentation and linguistic diversity have obscured the gradual, but significant, evolution of common, region-wide concerns in the areas of diplomacy, commerce,security, culture and environmental protection. Contacts between Caribbean countries, and between individual nations of the region and outside powers, have historically focused on bilateral relationships. When outside powers have dealt with the region as a whole, they have often treated it either as an undifferentiated "basin," or as an awkward appendage of Africa or Latin
America.

Washington decision makers often tend to devote attention to the Caribbean only when there is a high-profile emergency somewhere in the region. Consequently, the ability of U.S.policy makers to both protect U.S. long term interests and complement local and regional interests is hindered by unfamiliarity with the region's complexity, the perspectives of its various peoples, and the historical context of its new challenges.

The Trinity Caribbean Project seeks 1) to provide U.S. policy makers with factual information and perspectives on the region that they do not usually encounter; 2) to facilitate communication and dissemination of information among a broad array of actors, both regional and extra-regional, concerning regional issues; and 3) to enhance the opportunities for students and scholars from both the Caribbean and the U.S. to develop their knowledge of each other and the region.

Two separate programs on Cuba and Caribbean wide issues provide the primary vehicle for the pursuit of these goals. These programs bring together academics, officials from the executive and legislative branches of government, and representatives of non-governmental and private-sector organizations for discussions with individuals who provide new factual information and/or different perspectives.

These highly-focused island-specific meetings are accompanied by a parallel program of Washington-based conferences on region-wide themes. Speakers from the Caribbean are included whenever possible, and the composition of participants is similar to that of the country specific gatherings. Among the themes addressed are economic development (including foreign investment, international trade, and tourism), migration, cooperative security, international crime and drug trafficking, disaster relief, environmental protection, and general regional integration.

In addition to its Washington activities, the Caribbean Project also organizes periodic conferences in the region. Their focus is to facilitate communication both between policy makers and public constituencies in the region and between those individuals and their U.S. counterparts. The aforementioned issues are addressed with special emphasis on the nexus between the interestsof the region and those of the United States.

In the course of pursuing its objectives, the Caribbean Project seeks to complement existing initiatives in the policy, academic and NGO arenas, both in Washington and in the region.