| This dissertation examines the social, economic and political developments in Jamaica which have contributed to a significant decline in political violence and the subsequent rise in overall violence. Political violence was utilized as a tool by the political parties to garner support and votes from key components of the electorate. These strategies (garrison development, orchestrated protests, intimidation, electoral manipulation, and inter-community warfare) were utilized by both parties from the 1960s through the 1980s. In the 1980s a number of forces, some of which were out of the direct control of the political elite, (collapse of the bauxite industry, IMF, World Bank and other restrictions, increased remittances, rise in the international drug trade), forced changes in the system of political patronage which had supported political violence. Political leaders also undertook a series of reforms geared at limiting their capacity to maintain certain forms of patronage and expand levels of political violence. As a result, from the 1990s onwards Jamaica has seen a significant reduction in the level and intensity of political violence. Unfortunately, a byproduct of these changes has been the development of other, equally or more troubling forms of violence.;Communal violence has been traditionally associated with ethnic conflicts in South Asia. However, post 1990 violence in Jamaica has come to take on a communal character of its own. Communal violence in Jamaica shares many common characteristics with that experienced in South Asia. This dissertation explores these similarities and highlights possible areas for future comparative study. |
