The Greater Caribbean, comprised of approximately forty territories—both independent and non-independent—constitutes a rich cultural, economic, political, and geostrategic mosaic. Beyond its internal differences, the region shares common characteristics stemming from geographic proximity, colonial experiences, and persistent challenges in achieving sustainable economic development with social justice amidst the intensifying negative effects of climate change. Adding to these dynamics is a growing global geopolitical interest: the Caribbean is a strategic hub for major powers due to its maritime routes, its location between the two American subcontinents, and its role as the immediate border of the United States. The US economic and security presence, evident in the recent military deployment in the region, coupled with its strategic interest in natural resources, especially fossil fuels, continues to constrain the scope of action of Caribbean states.

The Working Group on Crisis, Responses, and Alternatives in the Greater Caribbean (WG CRAGC) proposes to continue a research and action-oriented approach that explores the challenges and opportunities for Caribbean territories to advance along the path of sustainable development with inclusion and social justice. This approach recognizes both the structural obstacles faced by Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and the complex geopolitical position of the Caribbean, where the interests of the United States, China, Russia, India, European actors, Latin American actors, and new South-South dynamics converge.

The literature on the vulnerabilities of small states—and particularly island states—is abundant (Baldacchino 2018, Thorhallsson 2018, Sutton 2011). In the Caribbean case, the difficulties of economic management, domestic politics, international projection, and environmental protection stand out in a context marked by poverty, inequality, unemployment, migration, violence, and involvement in transnational criminal networks (Girvan 2010, Bernard 2007). These challenges are exacerbated by the impacts of climate change (Scobie 2013, Bishop and Payne 2012, Pulwarty et al. 2010), but also by growing geopolitical tensions in a context of international order transition: the militarization of the Caribbean, the reconfiguration of strategic alliances, China's expanded presence in infrastructure and trade, Russia's return to the region, and the Caribbean's persistent centrality in the United States' hemispheric security architecture.

During the last period, the CRAGC Working Group, together with the Chair of Caribbean Studies at the University of Havana, developed two editions of the International Conference on Caribbean Studies (the third is in preparation), which comprehensively addressed the multidimensional vulnerabilities and main processes that characterize the Caribbean scenario. Panels were also organized at the 10th Latin American and Caribbean Conference of Social Sciences (June 2025) on "Crisis in Haiti and Popular Resistance" and "Cuba and its Relations with the Insular Caribbean," in addition to participation in panels coordinated with other working groups.

With the aim of strengthening academic exchange with the English-speaking Caribbean, members of the Working Group participated in the international conference "Reimagining Caribbean Economic Thought" (UWI, St. Augustine, 2025) and in the 48th Annual Conference of the Caribbean Studies Association (CSA), held in St. Lucia (2024). They also contributed to conferences of the AMEI (Mexico), AMEC (Mexico), and CIPI (Cuba), among others. Webinars organized by the Working Group included specific analyses of regional geopolitics, international relations, and the Haitian crisis. These contributions were complemented by contributions to InfoCLACSO and the Cuadernos de Pensamiento Crítico Latinoamericano (Notebooks of Latin American Critical Thought), as well as the systematic publication of two annual issues of the Working Group's Boletín Caribes (Caribbean Bulletin).

Beyond the discourse of vulnerability, it is essential to recognize that Caribbean countries possess the capacity and resources to advance economic development, formulate effective public policies, and care for their most vulnerable populations (Baldacchino 2009, Gomes 2014). The Caribbean has built historical resilience in the face of natural disasters, colonial exploitation, slavery, and external pressures, reflecting a tradition of resistance and sociopolitical creativity.

The CRAGC Working Group seeks to influence public policy formulation through research and dialogue with regional stakeholders. It is essential to recover perspectives originating from the region that integrate its geographical particularities, histories of colonization and slavery, forced migrations, incomplete independence, high exposure to climatic and economic shocks, as well as its dependence on trade flows and foreign investment (Chaitoo 2013, Girvan 2012, Hendrickson 2012, Nurse 2009). In this regard, dialogue with stakeholders in the Greater Caribbean, especially with Mexico and Central America, will be a focus of greater attention in the coming period.

These perspectives are essential in a geopolitical environment characterized by competition among powers for economic influence, access to energy resources, maritime control, and military and security projection in the Caribbean. This agenda also includes an analysis of the relations between the Caribbean and Latin America, as well as regional integration and cooperation initiatives (Griffith 2007, Lewis 2008). Integration has been a central theme of the Working Group's work, expressed in studies, publications, and academic interventions.

For the next period, the CRAGC Working Group will emphasize the formulation of policy proposals that promote alternative development models to neoliberal prescriptions, addressing the Caribbean's specific vulnerabilities, its status as an intercontinental bridge, and its growing relevance in the strategic competition among powers. The collaboration between the Working Group and the International Policy Scenarios program at CIPI, along with the Norman Girvan Chair, opens the possibility of incorporating more academics from the Caribbean and the diaspora.

Among the priority issues are:

? the geopolitical reconfigurations and the relationship of the Caribbean with Latin America and extra-regional actors (USA, China, India, Africa and Russia),

The use and control of natural resources,

Energy and food sovereignty,

The transition of the energy matrix towards renewable sources,

The effects of climate change,

? migratory flows and the role of the diaspora,

? the economic dynamics and regional integration initiatives,

and the centrality of culture in development processes.

Special emphasis will be placed on sectors such as Afro-descendant populations, migrants, women and youth, in addition to promoting critical reflection that confronts the still persistent colonial narratives.

Critically situating the study of the Caribbean's economic, political, geopolitical, cultural, social, and environmental realities within the global dynamics and Latin American public policy is essential. The Caribbean shares with Latin America problems such as institutional weakening following the rise of right-wing governments, the erosion of social policies, attacks on regional integration, political destabilization, increased inequality, violence, migration, and the worsening impacts of climate change. In this context, it is crucial to analyze the potential changes that may arise in a highly volatile international scenario, a polarized Latin American political context, and their impact on a Caribbean region that is simultaneously a space of vulnerability, resistance, and global geopolitical dispute.

The CRAGC Working Group recognizes that, in the contemporary international landscape—marked by profound geopolitical tensions, economic reconfigurations, and social transformations—scientific research plays a crucial role in guiding public policies and development strategies in the Greater Caribbean. In a context characterized by structural vulnerabilities and increasing exposure to changing global dynamics, it is essential to generate knowledge that allows for the identification of development alternatives tailored to the region's specific characteristics, while remaining mindful of regional and multilateral commitments, various integration and cooperation initiatives, and the pressures imposed by geopolitical competition among global actors.

This research approach is based on the understanding of the Caribbean as a region characterized by the status of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), whose material limitations—small territories, small populations, economic volatility, vulnerability to disasters and climate change (Laguardia Martínez 2017)—were recognized by the international community at the Fourth Conference in Antigua and Barbuda (2024). Despite advances in social and economic development, these vulnerabilities continue to restrict their resilience and capacity for action, positioning climate change as one of the main challenges for the survival of Caribbean populations and as a central vector of public policy and regional diplomacy.

Adopting the theoretical framework of SIDS allows for an analysis of the Caribbean's complexity within the international system, as a group of developing countries located in a region of high geopolitical relevance for Latin America, the United States, and other extra-regional actors. This perspective also contributes to examining the dynamics of the region's international integration: the persistence of colonial dynamics and the status of politically non-independent territories (Suárez Salazar 2015; Byron 2015), dependent economic regimes, tax havens, restrictions on financial access, neo-extractivism, subordinate integration into global value chains, disputes over natural resources, multidimensional security, migrations and diasporas, and the forms of social resistance that emerge in response to these pressures. These phenomena shape the Caribbean's political economy and its integration into the international economy.

At the same time, the Caribbean is today a strategic region where the interests of traditional and emerging extra-regional actors—such as the United States, China, India, Russia, and African actors—converge, and their competition redefines the normative and geopolitical framework within which Caribbean states must make public policy decisions. The region is not a space detached from this dispute, but rather a territory where new forms of influence, assistance, financing, and economic diplomacy are being tested (Marín Suárez, 2022; Regueiro Bello et al., 2022, 2025). Therefore, studying the instruments, priorities, and models of engagement of these actors is crucial for designing responses specific to the Caribbean, capable of mitigating asymmetries and strengthening the region's strategic autonomy in a transforming international order.

At the same time, functional cooperation is a central tool for strengthening the Caribbean's capacity for collective action. Following Norman Girvan's reflections, this approach allows us to overcome the limitations of integration based solely on trade and promotes shared solutions in areas such as energy, the environment, strategic planning, industrial policy, science, technology and innovation, education, and social policies (Girvan, 2003). This perspective guides the efforts of both CARICOM and the ACS in their aim to consolidate the Greater Caribbean as a genuine Zone of Cooperation. Triangular cooperation, which links Caribbean actors with extra-regional partners, expands these possibilities by integrating local capacities with diversified external financing and opens up opportunities for initiatives with countries such as China, India, and several African states. The experience of cooperation between Cuba and CARICOM is a successful example that can be expanded to new sectors (Laguardia Martínez et al., 2024).

In a context where economic, political, climatic, and environmental crises recurrently affect Caribbean societies, the integration of scientific research and public policy becomes indispensable. Social inequalities, poverty, migration flows, violence, illicit trafficking, energy and food dependency, and environmental vulnerability demand informed and contextualized responses. This includes a particular emphasis on the challenges faced by Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, women, youth, and other historically marginalized groups.

The CRAGC Working Group aims not only to promote research addressing these issues from a geopolitical and development perspective, but also to ensure that this scientific knowledge influences public policy formulation, decision-making, and the agendas of social movements. In this way, the Group is committed to strengthening an ecosystem of interaction between science, politics, and society that contributes to redefining the role of the Greater Caribbean in an increasingly turbulent and competitive world.