The work analyses the nature and progress of Jamaica's foreign relations during the period 1972-1989. The author examines the country's attempts to come to terms with the limits imposed and possibilities offered by the shifting internal and external power constellations. The central argument is that the relative autonomy of the Jamaican state with regard to the conduct of foreign relations was reduced because of the evolution of a new international regime. Henke argues that this regime in effect prevented the political, social and economic experimentation which was envisioned at the beginning of the period under examination.
The text employs a holistic perspective, attempting to delineate the political economy which underpinned Jamaica's foreign policy during this time. It departs from earlier studies which have tended to focus on the diplomatic history of the country's foreign relations without illuminating the factors which defined the context of state action.
