ABSTRACT
Studies on security problems and policies in the Caribbean over the last two decades have revolved around four main themes: United States militarization of the region; drugs, political instability, and other security challenges; increased emphasis on domestic military and paramilitary institutions in parts of the region; and assessment of the Regional Security System (RSS) as a collective security mechanism. Although much of the analysis is policy oriented, very little has been written about the perceptual backdrop against which security initiatives are undertaken by Caribbean leaders. Some studies do comment on elite thinking, but those comments are always tangential to other concerns. 1 Partly to stress the importance of the perception factor, this study begins with an examination of the perception-security nexus in the region.
