Caribbean Revolutions and Revolutionary Theory: Assessment of Cuba, Nicaragua and Grenada

This volume re-examines the meaning of revolution as a useful concept in politics. It traces the history of the concept from its ancient beginnings, but especially in connection with the idea of progress since the French Revolution. More recent statements are examined as a prelude to arriving at a less deterministic, entrenched definition than has often been the case, but which retains the idea of revolution as a potential window and facilitator of change. The Cuban, Nicaraguan and Grenadian revolutions are compared, using techniques derived from John Stuart Mill and perfected by Theda S. Kocpol. Emphasis is placed on the conditions which facilitated the making of these revolutions, the social forces which led the process in each case and how these factors came together to affect the extent of popular empowerment in the post-insurrectional landscapes. The author contends that none of these revolutions suggests that there is a predetermined, "progressive" path which various states must inevitably follow. Revolutions occur as a result of conjecture, accumulated experience and contingency. Despite the incompleteness and unfulfilled promise of all these revolutions, they suggest, to different degrees, that real human agents in the rare revolutionary opening do have the potential to make history and effect positive changes, if they can learn from the accumulated errors of the past. Brian Meeks has a PhD in government. He is also the author of "Grenada: Social Formation and People's Revolution" and "The Grenada Revolution: Political and Economic Documents".