Dear Editor,

Following the Thirty Years’ War, a European religious war that embroiled much of the continent, the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 established the notion of territorial sovereignty as a norm of non-interference in the affairs of other nations, called Westphalian sovereignty.

Because of globalisation the concept of a nation’s sovereignty will be challenged. Presently, the United States, Russia, the European Union, and China are the main disruptors to national sovereignty.

The United States has a history of interference in the national affairs of many countries using the Monroe’s Doctrine as its justification and human rights concerns.

The people in Venezuela are suffering mainly because of US sanctions. Venezuela cannot use the US-dollar payment system call SWIFT. When Caribbean countries was threatened with similar sanctions via “de-risking” we panicked and tried to comply.

If any country cannot use SWIFT its economy would crumble since it is the only fully developed international payment system, although China has a basic one and the European Union is developing one.

Russia has interfered with the sovereignty of many of its former members of the Soviet Union, such as Georgia and Ukraine.

China has interfered with the sovereignty of many nations using its Belt and Road Initiative. Sri Lanka handed over it port to a Chinese state company for 99 years because it cannot repay its debt to China. China has control of Gwadar Port in Pakistan.

The European Union has disrupted many countries sovereignty using Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and blacklisting countries — forcing them to change their laws so it benefits developed nations (mainly Europe). Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves and Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerritt made statements supporting my assertion.

The balancing act that Jamaica and Caricom has to do is how to benefit from the international system and not be servants, but skilled players.

More globalisation will likely occur, more battle for global hegemony will materialise, but having protocols and policies to benefit from them is paramount. There are mathematical models that can help.

Brian Ellis Plummer

brianplummer@yahoo.com