Politics of Identity in Small Plural Societies Politics of Identity in Small Plural Societies Guyana, the Fiji Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago Stacey- Ann Wilson politics of identity in small plural societies Copyright © Stacey- Ann Wilson, 2012. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2012 978-0-230-33987-3 All rights reserved. First published in 2012 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States— a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe, and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-34242-6 ISBN 978-1-137-01212-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781137012128 Library of Congress Cataloging- in-Publication Data Wilson, Stacey- Ann, 1977– Politics of identity in small plural societies : Guyana, the Fiji Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago / Stacey- Ann Wilson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Nationalism. 2. Ethnicity. 3. Ethnicity— Political aspects. 4. Ethnic groups— Political activity. 5. Cultural pluralism. 6. Developing countries— Politics and government. I. Title. JC312.W55 2012 320.54— dc23 2011028463 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Scribe Inc. First edition: February 2012 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 In loving memory of Allison “Gene” Mckie Delecia Contents List of Illustrations ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii Introduction 1 Part I: Framing the Research 1 Conceptualizing Identity: Ethnicity and Culture 15 2 Six Perspectives on Identity and Politics 29 3 Ethnopolitics: An Analytic Framework 55 Part II: Ethnicity and Politics in Small Developing States 4 Guyana: The Uncooperative Republic 75 5 Fiji: Indigenous Paramountcy 99 6 Trinidad and Tobago: The Politics of Accommodation 125 Conclusion 153 Notes 161 Bibliography 189 Index 207 Illustrations Figures 1.1 Politically relevant identities (overlapping) 28 3.1 External and internal pressures on small developing states 68 3.2 The politics of scarce benefits and spoils 70 3.3 Consequences of the politics of scarce benefits and spoils 70 Tables 4.1 Ethnic composition of Guyana 88 5.1 Coups in Fiji 109 5.2 Ethnic composition of Fiji 117 6.1 Ethnic composition of Trinidad and Tobago 132