Political communications in a crisis

The Netherlands Antilles, an autonomous group of six islands in the Caribbean under the Kingdom of the Netherlands since 1954, have enjoyed economic growth and security for many years. In 1985 and 1986 the international activities that had made the group a paradise were decaying. In addition, political instability appeared likely to threaten the islands because Holland clearly wanted to sever formal ties with the local governments. The second largest island, Aruba, sought and achieved a separate political status—status aparte—at considerable economic hazard. Since the majority of the islanders, particularly those on the big island of Curaçao, did not want full independence, negotiations with the Dutch were urgently needed as the economic situation worsened. The decline of the oil refining industry in Curaqao portended serious unemployment and political radicalization under Cuban‐Marxist‐Leninist influence. The crisis called for improved political communication through many channels of action‐oriented citizens to create a coalition of all island and social factions in support of an emergency survival program

Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Economy · Elite · Independence (probability theory · Negotiation · Paradise · Political economy · Political instability · Political science · Politics · Radicalization · Sociology · Terrorism · Unemployment · Caribbean history, culture, and politics · History · Island Studies and Pacific Affairs · Law