Populism in the Caribbean: a case study of Curaçao

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe an example of populism in the Caribbean. Populism is a worldwide phenomenon but little has been published about the development of populist politics in the Caribbean region, where it may find a unique expression. Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on an analysis of the popular media, which were monitored from January 2010 until October 2011. The discourse and presentations of politicians were examined and analyzed. The resulting analyses were shared and debated with political observers and other stakeholders. An early draft of this paper was reviewed by a number of peers who added some critical insights 1 . Findings – Populism in the Caribbean is an important phenomenon, because the region has all of the conditions that are necessary for it to thrive. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the analysis of populism in small Caribbean islands.