ABSTRACT
This chapter starts with an overview of the political history of the federation, after which two sections are devoted to outlining the microstate's democratic institutions and explaining their continued existence. It also presents the results of field research on the effects of smallness on politics and democracy in St. Kitts and Nevis. The book focuses at the political history, democratization, and political institutions of the federation, after which an analysis of the microstate's political system is provided. The results indicate that political competition is highly personalized, polarized, and antagonistic in nature, and that victimization of political opponents occurs regularly. The influence of size on the politics of St. Kitts and Nevis is examined by analyzing the nature and quality of contestation and inclusiveness. In the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, political contestation occurs in the form of direct elections for legislative organs that are organized once every five years.
