The Quest for Security in the Caribbean: Problems and Promises in Subordinate States: Problems and Promises in Subordinate States by Ivelaw L. Griffith

Author:Ivelaw L. Griffith [Griffith, Ivelaw L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781317454960
Google: 8WXbCQAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 27290538
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 1993-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

7

GEOPOLITICS OF THE REGION

The geopolitical significance of the Caribbean lies, generally, in its possession of strategic materials, in the location of strategic access routes there, and in the security networks that powerful states have in the area. The geopolitical value of the Caribbean area varies for different countries depending on the military, economic, political, or other interests and stakes involved.

States with interests or stakes in the region are found at various parts of the international power hierarchy. There is the United States, a superpower. The USSR, recognized as a superpower from the end of World War II until close to its demise in 1991, also had strategic interests in the Caribbean. The strategic connection also involves big powers and middle powers. Britain and France are in the former category; Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela in the latter. However, before looking at the geopolitical interests of these states and how they affect the Commonwealth Caribbean, some attention should be paid to the strategic character of the Caribbean Basin, defined here to include the littoral states plus the Guyanas.

Strategic Materials and Access

Caribbean states own and produce resources important for both military and civilian purposes. As Tables 7.1 and 7.2, and Figure 7.1 show (see pages 179, 180–81, and 183 respectively), there are oil, bauxite, gold, nickel, copper, cobalt, and other natural resources in the region. Neighboring Brazil has a variety of strategic and nonstrategic materials, including bauxite, manganese, dolomite, oil, uranium, tungsten, and chromium.1 It is helpful to note the uses of some of these materials.

In the non-military area, petroleum is used for gasoline, heating, chemicals, and plastics. Cobalt is used in carbides, magnets, and alloys; manganese in batteries and in the steel industry. Bauxite is used for building materials, in aircraft, and to make household utensils; copper for coins, and to make electrical conductors. In the military area, bauxite is important in a variety of military vehicles, and for ammunition. For example, a single engine for the United States F–15 and F–16 fighters uses 720 pounds of aluminum, which is refined from bauxite. Cobalt is crucial for making jet turbine blades, landing gear, engine mounts, and other components. It is also vital for the production of missile controls, precision rollers, and recoil springs for war tanks. Uranium is crucial for the production of nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. In the case of chromium, every F–15 jet contains about 1,656 pounds of this material.2

Bauxite and oil are the two strategic resources found in the Commonwealth Caribbean, although, as noted in chapter three, they are found in few states there. Bauxite is produced as well as refined in the Caribbean, and both crude bauxite and alumina products are exported. These are exported primarily to the United States and Canada, but there have also been exports to Western Europe and the former USSR. As is evident from Table 7.2, there are several aspects of the petroleum industry in the Caribbean: production, refining, and transshipment. Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago are the region’s two oil producers. Refining takes places there and in St.

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