Ordering Independence: The End of Empire in the Anglophone Caribbean 1947–69 New, by Spencer Mawby
| DOI | 10.1177/0020702014564668 |
| Date | 01 March 2015 |
| Published date | 01 March 2015 |
| Author | Robert Anthony Waters |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
subsidiary claim that subordinate states will ‘‘specialize’’ in ‘‘system-ameliorating
tasks unsuited to great powers’’ (13). Although minor powers may indeed look for
‘‘niches’’—roles like peacekeeping and mediation that great powers, because of
their threatening nature, are ill-suited to perform—it is far too charitable to
describe such vague endeavours as concerted policy. Specialization entails concen-
tration and the development of particular skills, mantras that have fallen on deaf
ears in Canada. The military, for example, has consistently sought a wide range of
combat assets for a host of mission types. Canada’s foreign ministry has similarly
shunted its focus and resources from one region or issue area to the next, a tumult
incompatible with the development of particular expertise. Even peacekeeping, so
lionized as a Canadian forte in mainstream political discourse, has essentially been
abandoned. Rather than specialization, it would be more accurate to characterize
Canadian policy as ‘‘muddling through’’; that is, haphazardly juggling foreign and
domestic objectives from one crisis to the next, with little regard for the honing of
specific capabilities.
But this is only a minor quibble. The book’s chief lesson is a powerful one: we
overlook the complex interplay of anarchy and hierarchy at great peril. A world of
pure anarchy would create universal expectations of belligerence. However nasty
an existence, the upside is that militaries can plan accordingly. In contrast, a world
of complete hierarchy would demand absolute conformity, with coordination
between powers great and small being the only task of foreign policy. Here
again the path forward would be clear. Lennox demonstrates how policymakers
confront a mixture of both. Minor powers face structural pressure to both cooper-
ate and chafe against the wishes of their powerful benefactors. At best, this will
inspire befuddlement; at worst, serious misunderstandings that spark conflict. In
either case, it will require astute diplomats and statespeople to accommodate when
possible and calm tempers when necessary.
Spencer Mawby
Ordering Independence: The End of Empire in the Anglophone Caribbean 1947–69
New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. 312 pp. $100 (cloth)
ISBN 978–0–23027–818–9
Reviewed by: Robert Anthony Waters Jr., Ohio Northern University
Why did federation fail among the British West Indian colonies? Why are the
independent nations that emerged from its wreckage mired in poverty and frequent
instability? Spencer Mawby sets out to answer these questions in Ordering
Independence: The End of Empire in the Anglophone Caribbean 1947–69.
Historians of decolonization in the British Caribbean have traditionally focused
on the many and often grave failures of the region’s colonial political leaders.
Recent scholarship has focused on US behind-the-scenes intervention. Mawby’s
goal is to add the British colonial overlords to the story. In an amusing twist, he
writes that he is restoring British agency where it has been ignored. In so doing,
170 International Journal 70(1)
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