CARICOM, the Myth of Sovereignty, and Aspirational Economic Integration

This article examines CARICOM's (the Caribbean Community's) history and institutional structure, by using the myth of sovereignty identified by Louis Henkin, as a launch pad for deeper exploration of the cause, nature and role of the conception of sovereignty. Specifically, it links that conception to the failure of regional economic integration attempts. While, in the face of greater recognition of human rights, trade liberalization, and the role of private actors, the classic conception of sovereignty has contracted in the globalized world, the myth of sovereignty remains attractive to nations that seek equality in the international system. The article situates the formation of CARICOM in 1973 and the halting progress toward its stated economic integration goals within a worldwide trend toward regionalism, and puts forward the hypothesis that the failure of integration stems from adherence to a myth of sovereignty rather than the reality. That adherence to the myth has lead to an aspirational, rather than real, economic integration of the CARICOM member states