A 2022 paper, “Small states, statecraft and the challenges of national security: the case of Guyana”, written by two Nigerian sources and one Guyanese source (from Insights into Regional Development), proposed some “policy options that can ameliorate the Guyanese post-colonial political challenges occasioned by the precarious colonial experiences.” We list these below without comment.
“Guyanese statecraft trajectory towards a sustainable and stable Caribbean nation in the face of precarious post-colonial history, political alliance and nuances of intra and interregional influences on a country with great economic and geo-strategic potentials and the contradictions of a small population cannot be over-emphasised. The world is presently filled with extraordinarily successful small states in virtually all four corners of the earth. Singapore, Qatar, Oman, the UAE, Israel, etc are glaring examples of states with small populations with incredible success in developmental strides. Guyana can join the league with the right policy and programmes. The nations of the Caribbean, including the Republic of Guyana, are highly studied and most of their national challenges are well known by researchers and scholars who have understudied the challenges of the Southern American countries. The following recommendations, therefore, are proffered to ameliorate and promote national growth and development in the CRG and cement its diplomatic intercourse with its neighbouring countries.
First and foremost, the government of the republic should promote and encourage national integration and unification of the multiracial groups without marginalisation of any of these groups. This will significantly promote national cohesion and the unity of the state. This is against the backdrop of verifiable racial-cum ethnic divide amongst Indo-Guyanese, Afro-Guyanese, Asians, and indeed Latinos within the political, economic and social landscape of the country. The urgently needed cohesion is a prerequisite for stability and virile statecraft, stability and development.
It is imperative that the Cooperative Republic of Guyana (CRG) needs the massive strengthening of the institutions of governance including the security architecture. From politics to the economy, these institutions must be reformed and upgraded to meet current sub-regional and global challenges. This is against the backdrop of the relevance of these institutions to statecraft. The whole gamut of national security and law enforcement must be reinforced to attract the best brains and guarantee enhanced efficiency. Previous studies have shown that the reward system in the security sector is abysmally disincentivized and bedeviled by corruption, apathy, and poor performance. Adequate training and manpower development of personnel in collaboration with willing states such as the US will be needed. In a nutshell, a massive security sector reform is highly recommended to protect the newfound wealth in the Republic.
Thirdly, with great economic potential and near-geometric growth rate, the country needs an objective overhaul of demographic policies needed to attract the right kind of immigrants that can sustain the tempo of macro-economic growth and sustainable development. The suggested population growth policy is also needed to provide the needed human resources that will be needed to police the enormous landmass of CRG which is bounded by potential predatory states like Brazil and Venezuela.
The geo-strategic architecture of CRG needs a comprehensive overhaul in the face of renewed interests from the United States, Venezuela, Russia (for historical reasons) and indeed China. This kaleidoscope of interests by global powerful nations in a small state like the CRG can jolt the nation in centripetal directions and greatly undermine its stability and development.
Within the CARICOM region, the Cooperative Republic of Guyana (CRG) needs to upgrade the alliance between member countries aimed at reducing competition and engendering cooperation based on shared common threats and destinies. This way, the trans-Atlantic geo-strategic alliances will be more robust and effective.
Within the ambit of statecraft, there is the need for the country to adopt the Costa Rican example of demilitarisation to save enormous resources hitherto utilized for some nebulous national security and reallocate the same for policing and public safety and social security. Inclusive leadership rooted in deep national patriotic culture is a prerequisite for sustainable development. This should permeate the entire country and stamp on the psyche of Guyanese via reorientation of the entire citizenry.”
