State Authority Structures and the Rule of Law in Post-Colonial Societies: A Comparison of Jamaica and Barbados

This thesis examines the determinants of a strong rule of law in post-colonial societies by comparing Jamaica and Barbados, two countries with many similarities, but with divergent outcomes concerning the rule of law. The research takes a comparative historical approach, specifically investigating the origins of the divergence of the rule of law between Jamaica and Barbados during the transition to independence. The analysis suggests that the extent of communal divisions influenced the political culture of the masses during the transition to universal suffrage in the late colonial period. This proved to be the critical factor that determined whether political violence and patronage politics were institutionalized, which ultimately led to the deterioration in the capacity of the state to promote the rule of law. Differences along four key dimensions (the extent of a race-class correlation, the extent to which the Afro-Caribbean population viewed themselves as members of the national community, the orientation of the religion of the lower classes towards the established order, and the structural conditions that facilitated the cultural autonomy of the lower classes) developed between the two islands during the early colonial period that influenced the formation of communal divisions along class lines, which in turn influenced the political culture of the masses.;In Jamaica, the ethnic division between the lower and middle classes led the former to adopt a political culture that challenged the authority of the colonial state, which, combined with the inaction of colonial authorities, ultimately resulted in the establishment of a democratic political system based on violence, lawlessness and patronage that emerged during a critical period of instability on the island (the transition to both universal suffrage and independence). In Barbados, the absence of communal divisions resulted in the adoption of the dominant political culture by the masses. As such, there was broad-based acceptance of the legitimacy of legal state authority, with all major political parties appealing to the electorate on a rational basis, thereby hindering the escalation and institutionalization of political violence and clientelism. Moreover, the compatibility between the political culture and the state authority structure in Barbados provided the foundation for a strong rule of law during the post-colonial period.