The Perry Center is excited to announce its latest book, an edited series of essays titled Contemporary Security and Defense Issues in the Caribbean. Contributing authors include participants and professors from the Center’s 2015 Caribbean Security and Defense Course.

The 200-page book is a product of the teamwork of the Perry Center faculty and staff. Professors Pat Paterson and Walter Earle edited the nine essays in the collection. Director Mark Wilkins provided the foreword. Perry Center graphic designer Vivian Edwards helped design and assemble the book. Strategic Program Manager Mike Mann oversaw the production and printing process. Perry Center research assistants Liliana Besosa, Sarah Albanesi, and Caroline Armstrong contributed to the research and collection of information including three annexes at the back of the book.

As Director Mark Wilkins wrote, the book is representative of what the Perry Center does best: assemble diverse perspectives from policy leaders in the region, craft them into an academic product, and distribute it to interested parties who may use it to develop constructive policy that contributes to regional stability and prosperity. The nine authors in the book are all products of the Perry Center courses and programs. They have sharpened their information, critical thinking skills, and knowledge through academic exchanges at the Center.

The chapters in the book are as follows:

1. The Un-Governed and Un-Governable Spaces: Threats to Democracy and National Security in Jamaica – George Benson, Jamaica
2. Preventing Violent Extremism in the Caribbean – Francesca Caonero and Pernille Rasmussen, United Nations
3. Citizen Insecurity in Trinidad and Tobago and the Applicability of the Concept of the Mafia State – by Dianne Williams, Trinidad and Tobago
4. Warring on Domestic Soil: Military versus Police Missions in Jamaica – Valeen Calder, Jamaica
5. Systemic Challenges in Law Enforcement: Examining the Social Context of Misconduct and Criminal Behavior within the Police Service of Trinidad and Tobago – Netty-Ann Gordon, Trinidad and Tobago
6. Corruption and its Impact on Good Governance in the Caribbean – Henderson P. Patrick, Barbados
7. The United Nations Law of the Sea Conventions (UNCLOS) and its Impact on the Traditional Maritime Powers Operations in the Caribbean – Wilbert Kirton, Barbados
8. Global Warming and Climate Change in the Caribbean – Pat Paterson, United States
9. Venezuela’s ‘9-Dash-Line’ in the Caribbean – R. Evan Ellis, United States