Abstract Seven 2001-2002

GLOBAL

DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

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Volume Two Winter 2000-Spring 2001 Numbers 3-4.

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CHALLENGES TO WESTMINSTER DEMOCRACY IN GUYANA

Maqsood-uddin Kadir

John Jay College of Criminal Justice

City University of New York

Published Online February 15, 2017

ABSTRACT

In March 2001, Guyana held its third democratic election since independence. This election was largely decided along racial lines rather than issues relating to socio-economic and political development. At all levels the infrastructure of the country was in disarray. Most telling was the lack of investment in human capital, and immigration from Guyana remained one of the most intractable problems associated with a drain on the country. Poverty and unemployment combined with rising social deviance plagued all facets of the nation. The fundamental question addressed is: how did 34 years of political independence fail to promulgate democratic stability and sustainable development in Guyana? The research investigates the utility of short-term structural adjustments in the economy employed by the newly elected government of President Bharrat Jagdeo as a response to many of the socio-economic difficulties faced by the people of Guyana. The article explores the historical underpinnings and contradictions of non-traditional forms of political and economic development and proffers that the socialist alliances sought by the leaders of the republic are the root cause for many of the inflexible problems encountered in Guyana today.