NAME: Timothy Sookram

ID#: 816021689

COURSE CODE: FOUN1301

DEGREE: BSc. Computer Science (General)

4. A. Parliamentary Government and Presidential Government

In the Parliamentary system the executive is not separated from the legislature and the members

of the council of ministers are the members of the legislature. While in the Presidential

Government the Presidential executive is totally separate from the legislature and the members

of the executive are not the members of the legislature.

In the Parliamentary Government the executive is responsible to the legislature and the executive

loses power when the confidence of the legislature is lost. While in the Presidential Government

the executive is not responsible to the legislature and the legislature cannot remove the executive

from power by way of a no-confidence motion.

In the Parliamentary system there are two heads, one person is state head while another person is

head of government. While in the Presidential Government there is only one head, the same

person is head of state as well as head of government. For example, in Trinidad and Tobago the

President is the head of state while the Prime Minister is the head of government.

In the Parliamentary systems, the Prime Minister is most powerful and the government does not

have a fixed tenure. For example, in Trinidad and Tobago the government can stay in power for

five years. But at any time during this five-year period, the government can be removed from

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power through a vote of no-confidence and in the Presidential system, the President is most

powerful and generally has a fixed tenure because it is very difficult to impeach him.

In the Parliamentary government, the Prime Minister cannot freely designate who his minister

can be so can appoint only the Members of Parliament can be appointed as minister. While in the

Presidential system the President has more freedom of choice so he can appoint persons from

outside the legislature as minister, however he must select them based on skill and experience.

In the Parliamentary system, the tenure of the executive is not fixed and the Council of Ministers

is dismissed if it loses the confidence of the legislature before its tenure is over. While in the

Presidential system, the Presidential executive has a fixed tenure normally and the President

can’t be removed from office by way of a vote of no-confidence and so stays in power for the

whole term. Though removal from by impeachment is possible it is not easy to remove him from.

The Parliamentary government is more democratic, because the executive (Council of Ministers)

headed by the Prime Minister is accountable to the legislature (Parliament). While the

Presidential government is democratic, because the executive (President) is not accountable to

the legislature.

In the Parliamentary government there is less separation of powers. The legislature also includes

the ministers as members. However, the principle of separation of powers is strictly followed in

the Presidential government. In the US, the President and his Ministers are not members of the

Congress.

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At a time of crisis such as during war and other emergencies, the Parliamentary government is

relatively less effective and successful. The Presidential government succeeds in taking

reasonable action and making quick decisions rather than the Parliamentary system.

B. Westminster-Whitehall Model

The Westminster model has been described as:

“a constitutional system in which the head of state is not the effective head of government; in

which the effective head of government is a Prime Minister presiding over a Cabinet composed

of Ministers over whose appointment and removal he has at least a substantial measure of

control; in which the effective executive branch of government is parliamentary in as much as

Ministers must be members of the legislature; and in which Ministers are collectively and

individually responsible to a freely elected and representative legislature.” i

The Whitehall model is the name that has been given to the systems of government that were

established in the Commonwealth Caribbean when the various territories were granted their

independence by Great Britain.

The acceptance of the Whitehall model in the Commonwealth Caribbean reveals a high degree

of reverence for British‑inspired constitutional technique. This can be accounted for in terms of

the fact that the political elites of the Commonwealth Caribbean were brought up under an

English‑influenced educational system, while those who went abroad to study invariably went to

England. The experiences of British colonialism would not have exposed these elites, or the

wider society, to any other type of constitutional formula, apart from the British Constitution.

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 The Whitehall model is the name given to the system of government that was set up in

the Commonwealth Caribbean after independence. There are five features of the Whitehall

model which include: the inclusion of a Bill of Rights in the Constitution that curtails the

legislative supremacy and the powers of the Executive, a unique bicameral system, rigid

enforcement on the separation of powers, written constitutional conventions and the

entrenchment of constitutional articles.

A Bill of Rights is included in the Constitution and this is a feature of the Whitehall

government which was not present in the Westminster system of government. The Bill of Rights

recognizes, declares, and protects the fundamental human rights and freedoms of the individual.

The bicameral system of the Whitehall system is unique in that members of the upper

house are nominated through patronage with no security of tenure. This means that the members

can be appointed or removed from the upper house whenever the need to do so arises. This is

unlike the Westminster system where there are four types of peers in the House of Lords:

hereditary, life, spiritual, and law.

There exists a clear separation of the powers in the Whitehall system that wasn’t present

in the Westminster system in the past. In the colonial era, the government was divided into two

functions: the executive and the legislature. The Whitehall system has divided the government

into three branches: the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary. Each branch of government

is confined to the exercise of its function and is not allowed to encroach upon the functions of the

other branches.

The unwritten constitution of the Westminster system was subjected to flexibility. In the

Whitehall system of government, the constitution is written and there is a certain degree of

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rigidity. The Westminster constitution was copied to the Whitehall constitution and where there

were instances of dual interpretation, the flexibility was not transferred as it provisions where

rigidly written down and explained.

The entrenchment of constitutional articles is a feature of the Whitehall system that is

alien to the Westminster system. The constitutions of all the Common Wealth Caribbean are

protected from easy amendment by the entrenchment of their provisions. Parliaments of the

region cannot amend the text of their constitutions by a simple majority because this is one of the

various checks and balances that have been placed in the constitution to protect them from

political abuse. There are three entrenchments which are: special majorities in parliament,

approval of Bills by referenda, and time delay procedures between readings of a Bill for

amendment.

5. A. West Indian Federation

Efforts to begin integration was in 1958 by the formation of the West Indies Federation that was

enacted by the British Federal Act of 1956. This first attempt at Caribbean integration was

political in nature as Caribbean countries aimed to obtain political independence from Britain as

a single federal state, although formed to strive for this purpose, Britain retained leadership of

the West Indian Federation. The federation was made up of ten members: Antigua and Barbuda,

Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, St Lucia, St

Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. Even though its aim was political

independence from Britain, it's head of state was in fact the crown, which had some legislative

authority over certain matters such as financing the federation. The West Indian Federation

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collapsed in 1962 when Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, considered two of the largest

members, sought to gain individual political independence for themselves. Indeed, Williams

(1966, 13) noted that "the independence of Trinidad and Tobago cannot be developed based on

intellectual concepts and attitudes worked out by metropolitan scholars in the age of

colonialism".

CARIFTA (Caribbean Free Trade Association)

“Despite the failure of the federation, an interest in economic integration persisted. Local

economists and political thinkers, including the Caribbean’s Nobel laureate in Economics,

Arthur Lewis, had long argued in favor of regional integration and cooperation to address the

constraints of small size on development, to share the costs of common services and to pool

bargaining power in international fora. In the early 1960s, Caribbean states embarked on a series

of integration initiatives of expanding ambition and varying geographic coverage. These

initiatives started with the establishment of the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) in

1965.” ii

Caribbean’s second attempt at integration CARIFTA: Caribbean Free Trade Association, the

dissolution of the federation left some members still wanting to be part of an economic union.

These smaller islands, known as the West Indies Associated States (Antigua-Barbuda, St Kitts-

­Nevis-Anguilla, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, and St Vincent), were viewed as being unable to

act as fully independent states. The newly independent members were at different stages of

development and viewed cooperation as a way to smoothly develop their economies both

individually and regionally. CARIFTA began in 1965 with the signing of the Dickenson Bay

Agreement in Antigua, the founding members were: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana,

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and Trinidad and Tobago because these members had recently gained independence and it

became obvious that a form of union or integration would be a benefit to all instead of standing

individually against the wider markets. During that period, larger islands such as Jamaica and

Trinidad and Tobago gained independence and experienced sustained economic growth which

made it highly possible for these countries to be successfully independent. The underlying

principles of the CARIFTA agreement sought to improve the economic conditions for members

of the Caribbean region.

1. Promote expansion and diversification of trade among members

2. Ensure that the rules of the fair competition were upheld for trade among members

3. Encourage increased development of economies within the area

4. Encourage development of trade in the Caribbean and its liberalization by the removal of trade

barriers

CARIFTA also promoted the development of the smaller islands through various initiatives, such

as providing special treatment in terms of liberalizing trade barriers on sensitive sectors at a

slower rate and promoting the development of their industries. CARIFTA was different in the

sense that it recognized member states that were at different levels of development and it made a

distinction between most developed countries (MDCs) and least developed countries (LDCs),

and integration should follow along with these distinctions.

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CARICOM (Caribbean Community)

The Treaty of Chaguaramas established the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), originally

referred to as the Caribbean Community and Common Market, on 4 July 1973 to facilitate the

social and economic development along with its fellow member states, and as a movement

towards greater integration in the Caribbean. The initial signatories were Barbados, Guyana,

Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. The treaty entered into force on 1 August 1973. Belize, St

Lucia, Dominica, St Vincent, Montserrat, and Grenada became members in April 1974, along

with Antigua and St Kitts and Nevis, and Anguilla later on. On 4 July 1983, the thirteenth

member state became the Bahamas. Turks and Caicos Islands and the British Virgin Islands

became members associated with CARICOM in July 1991.

CARICOM's basic trading rule allows for the complete unrestricted flow of goods that originate

from within the body of members to other members within the body.

CSME (CARICOM Single Market and Economy)

Regional integration in the Caribbean further deepened as CARICOM members in 1989 agreed

to establish the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). Regional leaders urged

progression to the CSME to move from a common market to a more in-depth single market and

economy as the benefits of the CSME included not only the free movement of goods and

services but also provisions to ensure deeper economic cooperation and integration. According to

Brewster, Dolan, and Stewart (2002, 4), "the CSME is an attempt to create a larger, unified

economic space within which greater productive efficiency and competitiveness could be

achieved and regional economic growth accelerated, particularly through the expansion of

exports to increasingly liberalized hemispheric and world markets", The CSME continued to

8
build on the foundation principles of CARICOM and expanded the scope and depth of

regionalism in the Caribbean. The key elements of the CSME as proposed in the Revised Treaty

of Chaguaramas as noted by Kendall (2008a, 4) are as follows:

1. Free movement of goods and services

2. Free movement of labor and capital

3. Common trade policy

4. Economic, fiscal, monetary harmonization

5. Support to disadvantaged regions and sectors

6. Policy harmonization in general

The removal of all barriers to intra-regional trade meant that it allowed for the free movement of

goods and services within the region which will create wider market access for regional

producers and encourage competition. It will improve quality standards, increase efficiency, and

result in more competitive prices, on a regional and international scale. However, these were not

without challenges as a part of the region has a unified currency and OECS has a monetary union

as well as different resources and a perceived imbalance in economic power

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OECS (Organization of Eastern Caribbean States)

The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) was signed on 18 June 1981 under the

Treaty of Basseterre. Its members include Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat,

St Kitts, and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines with 4 associates. The treaty

was signed with the intention that the countries agree to cooperate with each other and promote

unity. The OECS grew out from the perspective that small islands were disadvantaged in the

sense that they are unable to survive and cope with competition independently. The idea was to

encourage cooperation and common representation. The treaty promoted cooperation among the

member states and the regional and international level and also economic integration among the

member states to name a few. The potential disadvantages of OECS were the loss of

individualism of each territory and the need to take into account others when deciding on wider

regional agreements.

B. A unified currency is a shared currency that is used by different geographic or political

groups. What it means to have a unified currency is to facilitate business and trade across

national or societal boundaries. The most popular example of a unified currency is in the case of

European Union where a majority of the countries occupied the geographical region of Europe

uses only one currency to conduct business and trade across national or societal boundaries

wherein they operate using the Euro (€) which is the primary currency for the majority of

Europe.

There are numerous benefits and disadvantages to having a unified currency for a group of

countries to operate under starting with the advantages, the elimination of exchanges rates,

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traditionally in the modern world without a unified currency, each country would have a

different currency valued at a different relative to other currencies, the advent of unified currency

would eliminate this idea entirely by having business and trade operate all under one common

currency.

A unified currency will be less susceptible to hyperinflation meaning if the market and stock

exchange in a country occupying the union in which multiple countries operate under one

currency were to decline the countries especially developing nations wouldn’t be as susceptible

to hyperinflation and with stable prices, they could invest more heavily in long-term economic

development.

Another benefit is that it leads to price transparency since the goods of all member countries are

denominated in a single currency, it's easier to compare prices and therefore, easier for firms and

consumers to buy cheaper goods and supplies.

Now the disadvantage of having a unified currency are:

Political barriers: Political differences between nations make it extremely difficult for them to

adopt a common currency. It can lead to a loss in political sovereignty as monetary interests

would need to surpass political interests. This is unlikely to be acceptable to most of the nations

and the idea of a single currency may be difficult to implement.

While a unified currency sounds like a good idea its implementation might lead to mistakes

being repeated from the past such as “During the Great Depression, for example, the United

States government was able to spur economic development by increasing the supply of money

through monetary easing. This approach — originally suggested by common currency supporter

11
Keynes — worked, for the most part. The government used monetary easing again during the

2008 economic crisis. With a universal currency, the supply and value of money would no longer

be controlled at the national level. The entire world would have to agree on how many bills

should be in circulation, and what interest rates to adopt.” iii This shows that even if a unified

currency were to be adopted at a certain point after this model currency will no longer be stable

to sustain the economy and may pose a much greater risk later on.

7. Culture refers to a system of ideas, norms, values, knowledge, customs, and beliefs. From the

definition, the concept of culture can be discussed in two categories. The categories are material

and non-material culture. Culture enables us to communicate with others through language and

makes it possible to anticipate how others in our society are likely to respond to our actions.

Culture gives us standards for distinguishing between what is right and wrong (norms), beautiful

and unpleasant (values), reasonable and unreasonable and it provides us with the knowledge and

skills necessary for survival.

Material culture consists of the physical objects that those members of society produce to reflect

their interests and concerns. Material culture includes food, homes, apparel, paintings, weapons,

music, household appliances, factories, cars, and telephones. Culture is used in the Caribbean to

define the region because the culture that exists today is unique to the region as it was

constructed through an amalgamation of cultures from the different continents where the people

came from.

It is said that there are multiple types of attitudes to cultures of which there are four, these are

Ethnocentrism, Cultural Relativism, Multiculturalism, Acculturalism and Interculturalism, one

which is the ideal attitude is cultural relativism which tries to understand every culture on its own

terms thereby eliminating bias and prejudice as much as possible. Using this approach, however,

12
does not necessarily mean that every custom and practice of other cultures are accepted. It is

about understanding, not approval. Cultural relativity is an attempt to understand the cultural

evolution of societies and social groups on their own terms without trying to impose absolute

ideas of moral value or trying to measure different cultural variations in terms of some form of

absolute cultural standard. Another attitude which is the one most often used commonly in the

Caribbean is ethnocentrism which can be broadly defined as an attitude whereby other societies

are judged by the standards that apply to one’s own society. It refers to the tendency to view

one’s own culture as superior to others. People tend to expect others to become like them.

Ethnocentrism may involve tendencies such as evaluating other cultures from the perspectives of

your own (for example, the Orient or the ‘Far East’), viewing your own culture as ‘morally

correct’ while raising moral questions about the people and customs of other cultures and

becoming so deeply engrossed in your culture that other peoples and cultures are believed to be

less worthy of existence.

Multiculturalism is a contrast when considering the situation from the past, for example when

Caribbean society downplayed cultural diversity and defined itself primarily in terms of

European standards and culture. However, the many cultures were still negotiating their

relationship with one another and took time to develop into the social structure that emerged. At

the top were the Europeans, who formed a majority early and established their language as the

nation’s dominant language. Lower down the hierarchy, people of other backgrounds were

advised to model themselves according to “their superiors”. In practice, then, ‘melting’ was

really a process of adopting European ways, the way multiculturalists see it, early in Caribbean

history, the European way of life was viewed as an ideal to which all should aspire and by which

all should be judged.

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Ever since then, historians have reported events from the point of view of the Europeans, paying

little attention to the perspectives and accomplishments of natives and people of African and

Asian descent. This view was called Eurocentrism, the dominance of European cultural patterns.

Acculturation is the extensive borrowing of cultural traits by one group which was normally a

subordinate from another (aka cultural assimilation). It usually results from the deliberate and

forced imposition of the dominant culture upon the subordinate groups. In the long term, close

contact between groups also leads to the exchange of cultural traits between groups in society

(interculturation) and the emergence of a new culture. This is evidenced in the Caribbean during

colonialism.

Material culture consists of tangible things that exist within human creation such as literature,

architecture, cruise, art, and clothing. Material culture is very much a viable route for tourism for

foreign visitors as the culture is physical so it can be observed, interacted and visit, let's look at

the country of Trinidad and Tobago, which has a very diverse demographic of people present

within the population of multiple ethnicities and mixed as well, this is the result of the history of

the Caribbean where multiple ethnic groups gathered together and brought their culture along

with them so multiple cultures are integrated within the Caribbean so numerous cultures exist

within Trinidad and Tobago at the same time, for example, due to this multi heritage a variety of

cuisine exist as a result of the multiple cultures coming together with such as Indian and African

cuisines. Another aspect is the national heritage sites within the country such as waterfalls,

swamps, beaches and various historical sites like fort George in Trinidad, tourists can go on

sightseeing tours to observe the various sights and learn the history of each place and the country

as well.

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Non-Material Culture consists of non-tangible human creations, including knowledge, beliefs,

values, rules for behavior (etiquette), law, and language. This too has potential to be used in

tourism wherein tourists can practice and learn of about locally held beliefs and where they

originated from, one can practice religion in Trinidad and Tobago as it is home multiple religions

such as Hinduism, Islam, Rastafarianism and Various branches of Christianity, so it is reasonable

to assume that you can practice the various regions in the country and another aspect is folklore

which exist every Caribbean country, the folklore of each territory is quite different and diverse,

but the common thread that runs through the folklore is the allusion to African culture. In much

of the literature, the focus is on the lifestyles and relationships between the various racial groups

in the islands. The folklore is similar in most territories with some degree of variation. The La

Diablesse or the Devil Woman, Anansi the trickster spiderman in Jamaica, the Soucouyant of

Trinidad and Tobago or Old Higue of Guyana, Douennes, and Papa Bois are well-known

characters in Caribbean folklore.

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 Bibliography

4A

Law, Governance, Economy, and Society in the Caribbean

University of the West Indies Press - https://www.bookfusion.com/books/519228-law-

governance-economy-and-society-in-the-caribbean. Pg. 440

The Presidential and Parliamentary Governance Forms

Answers Ltd - https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/administrative-law/the-presidential-

and-parliamentary-governance-forms-administrative-law-essay.php

4B

Law, Governance, Economy, and Society in the Caribbean

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governance-economy-and-society-in-the-caribbean. Pg. 456

Legislatures of small states: a comparative study

Nicholas Baldwin - Routledge – 2013 Pg. 23

5A

Law, Governance, Economy, and Society in the Caribbean

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governance-economy-and-society-in-the-caribbean. Pg. 619

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governance-economy-and-society-in-the-caribbean. Pg. 653

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Law, Governance, Economy, and Society in the Caribbean

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governance-economy-and-society-in-the-caribbean. Pg. 720-734

5B

Law, Governance, Economy, and Society in the Caribbean

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governance-economy-and-society-in-the-caribbean. Pg. 627-630

The Pros and Cons of a Universal Currency

BluePay - https://blog.bluepay.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-a-universal-currency

Why We Don't Use One World Currency - The Pros and Cons

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pros-and-cons/

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ii
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iii
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