ABSTRACT
In sum, the Caribbean has contributed much more to the world, in areas such as music, culture, applied democracy, and economic experience, than could have been expected, given population size. Yet the pace of integration within CARICOM is not fast enough to respond to the changes taking place in the world today. To be sure, trade liberalization has been essentially achieved. CARICOM represents an important sub-group of the Caribbean Basin Initiative countries, which enjoy significant trade concessions in the United States. The Caribbean has been described as the last playground of imperial influences. These influences generally act as a separating force among the various groups of English, French, Dutch, and Spanish-speaking territories, reinforcing the insularity that is exerted by the sea. The twenty-first century seems set to witness an ever closer knitting together of Caribbean societies. In addition, the Caribbean Development Bank and the Caribbean Tourism Organization already embrace a number of members from the wider Association of Caribbean States.
