Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Kitts and Nevis participated with UN Civilian Police (CIVPOL) to UNMIH in Haiti (1993-1996) (UNDPI 1996, 769). Saint Kitts and Nevis’ internal political environment is characterized by being an uneasy federation since independence from Britain in 1983 (BBC 2006aw, par. 1). This creates the situation where the politicians focus on finding political equality and better economic opportunities to its citizens, rather than participating in UN peace operations with troops. This is also reflected on its foreign policy which focuses on economic development.

Initial variables of the data collection process:

UN/UN eacekeeping policy reform
No record.

Perception of peacekeeping
No record.

Domestic political environment
The islands of St. Kitts—also known as St. Christopher—and Nevis have been in an uneasy federation since independence from Britain in 1983, with some politicians in Nevis saying the federal government in St Kitts—home to a majority of the population—had ignored the needs of Nevisians (Ibid., par. 2). But a referendum on secession held in Nevis in 1998 failed to gain the two-thirds majority needed to break away (Ibid.).

Domestic economic environment
Tourism and offshore finance are important sources of income—moreso since a centuries-old but loss-making sugar industry was wound down in 2005 with the loss of hundreds of jobs (Ibid., par. 3). Nevertheless, this has brought problems. By 2003, Nevis was home to around 17,000 offshore businesses operating under strict secrecy laws, making the islands a target for drugs traffickers and money launderers (Ibid.). Laws have been introduced to crack down on the problem (Ibid.).

Military affairs
The regular section of the St. Kitts and Nevis Defence Force was started in 1967 on two different occasions (Phillips 2000, 1).

In the eyes of the Bradshaw administration, the creation of a regular force seemed justifiable because the police as well as the volunteers in the pre-existing defence force, who were deemed to be inadequately trained and poorly armed, were incapable of containing the unrest which was bent on breaking the union between St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla. The establishment of a regular force gave St. Kitts and Nevis the distinction of being the first Commonwealth Caribbean country in the Leeward Islands to institute a "regular core" of full time soldiers. (Ibid.)

Foreign policy
Another top priority for Douglas' government was to continue to boost the island's exports (Thomson 2006q, par. 4). To this end, he supported the country's membership in CARICOM, a regional trade organization that regulates trade within the Caribbean and negotiates with other countries and trading blocs (Ibid.).

Additional variables found after the preliminary analysis:

Climate changes
No record.

Independent negotiations taken by DPKO to seek troops
No record.

Independent negotiations taken by contributor countries to engage non-contributor countries
No record.

Meetings organized by other international organizations to engage in dialogue about peacekeeping
No record.