The Cayman Islands in Transition: The Politics, History and Sociology of a Changing Society - Softcover

Bodden, J. Roy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9766373221 ISBN 13: 9789766373221

Publisher: Ian Randle, 2007

Synopsis

"'Who is a Caymanian?' 'What should be the nature of the relationship between "established Caymanian" and "expatriate Caymanians" in arriving at a definition?' J.A. (Roy) Bodden argues that Caymanian society is based on a synergistic and symbiotic relationship between expatriates and Caymanians. At the heart of this dilemma of twenty-first Caymanian society to define its identity and future direction, is its peculiar status as a modern-day 'frontier society' made up of a totally imported population. The author provides an engaging account of the peculiarities of that frontier status, its historical antecedents and the implications for the Islands' future development. He introduces a number of new analytical concepts such as 'pigmentocracy' to analyse the role of colour and class distinctions in the Islands' development and 'voluntary colonialism' to describe an existing political structure in which there appears to be no desire to evolve beyond the current status as a colony of Great Britain. Bodden is the first Caymanian to offer such a thorough examination of Cayman Islands society. He adopts a multidisciplinary approach to describe and analyse the specific ways that Caymanians and expatriates have grappled and continue to grapple with issues of settlement, colonialism, domination, prejudice, rapid economic growth, modernity and globalization. The Cayman Islands in Transition is a contribution to the emerging academic discipline of Island Studies and is bound to generate considerable debate, discussion and dialogue both within Caymanian society and beyond. "

About this title

Synopsis

Three fundamental questions motivate these writings: Who is Caymanian? For whom are we developing? What of our future? This is an analytical work which spans the disciplines of politics, history and sociology in the interpretation of the Caymanian society's development. The first three chapters are entitled, From Columbus to the Present: Caymanian History within the Larger West Indian Complex; Settlement, Society and Population: The Evolution of the Modern Cayman Islands; Engendering Democracy: The Relationship between Administering Power and Colony. Chapter four, possibly the most controversial, is: Hedge Funds and Trust: The Rise and Fall of the Cayman Islands as an International Financial Centre. The final and fifth chapter is From Frontier Society to International Centre: A Nuanced view.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ian Randle
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9766373221
• ISBN 13: 9789766373221
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 267