Global Issues and International Relations
Foreign policy and organisations
The Bahamas became a member of the United Nations in 1973, the year of independence. It also belongs to the Commonwealth, the Organisation of American States, the World Trade Organization and the Alliance of Small Island States, and works with the IMF and World Bank. Foreign policy priorities are sovereignty, security, trade, climate justice and protecting the tourism and financial services industries. An intergovernmental organisation is made up of states; a non-governmental organisation is not.
Globalisation and small-state vulnerability
Globalisation links countries through trade, investment, technology, migration and culture. It brings tourism, capital and remittances, but also dependence on imports, exposure to external shocks, cultural homogenisation, and pressure from international regulators on offshore finance. As a small island developing state, The Bahamas is highly exposed to hurricanes, sea-level rise and coastal erosion while having a narrow export base and high import dependence.
Key debates
Climate finance and loss and damage; sustainable development and renewable energy; human rights; trafficking in persons; drug transshipment and border security; irregular migration; and the problem that high per-capita income can disqualify the country from concessional finance even though it is physically vulnerable.
Worked example
To argue that a hurricane is a global issue, link local damage to global mechanisms: aid appeals through international agencies, reinsurance markets, climate negotiations under the Paris Agreement, and the AOSIS bloc pressing island concerns.
Traps
AOSIS is a negotiating alliance, not an aid agency. Do not confuse the Commonwealth with CARICOM, or an IGO with an NGO.