The Review of the Book Bricks, Ballots and Bullets

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The book by Ken Irish-Bramblem, Bricks, Ballots and Bullets, is emphasizing on the negative effect of political violence in Jamaica which resulted into the increased level of conflicts within the communities, rise in lawlessness and social unrest that became common on the streets. The book, therefore, focuses on how the political parties use political violence to woo voters and suppress other political parties which oppose their manifesto. The writer of this book tried to analyze the effect of political violence on socio-economic development in Jamaica after the country gained independence, which paved the way to the creation of certain reforms. These reforms resulted into the reduction of political violence and eventually led to rise of other form of violence in the country, which further affected both social and economic status of Jamaica. In early 1980s, the writer illustrates that there were very many different forces which had a great impact on the changes in the political system. Ultimately, political violence was perceived as a very important tool to push reforms and thus change the social and economic development of the state. The latter could not take place without political engagement. The writer also tries to analyze the effect of patronage based democracy which the people of Jamaica are practicing in electing their leaders. Irish Brambles elaborate this kind of system where citizens in the lower classes are influenced to vote according to the tribe needs where they belong. The book elaborates on how the country’s ruling system is composed of political violence and polarization where political leaders, who comes from big tribes and large constituencies, take advantage of other political leaders based on the economy of scale and constituency of their tribes. The book stress how this system leads to zero-rating legislation and freedom of traditional democracies where one of the political parties dominates the whole spectrum of political processes. In the book, the writer explains the effect of this system on the economic development, although the large alienated and increasing Jamaican population objects the political oppression because it promotes both tribalism and leads to election of bad leaders. The book vividly elaborates on the negative effect of using patronage based democracy as it makes all the political parties in Jamaica influence new supporters, as well as make them loyal to the party policies. The writer makes it clear on how the election reforms changed the face of the country, where the most powerful political parties’ influence is diminished prior to the oncoming elections. The political dominance is so stark that suppression persists even if some parts of the country still use the customary democracy policies in their strong grounds, where they have the majority of the voters. The book additionally explains in details how political abuse in the country prospers, which is paramount during the election, and this is found to influence a lot of conflicts between political parties. The writer tries to examine the impact of reinforcing the democratic institutions and the re-organization of the available market economy so that the benefits of these reforms can be achieved. The only thing that the book fails to clarify is the effect of democracy and non-market system since the country has shown good democratic practice in the past decades.

The fact that there have been a lot of political and economic changes, which have been made by Jamaicans for the last decades, the book indicates that the country still experiences additional problems, which were apparent five years ago. In my opinion, Jamaica still faces some setbacks which resulted from the reforms, which have been enacted to improve the political condition of the country. These setbacks still makes the social and economic status of the country to a standstill, with signs of little economic development which is present in few parts of the state. These political reforms, which the country has developed, has made Jamaica solve some of the political problems and other challenges, which the country was facing, as well as helped the country improve social and economic condition in the society, without noticing any drastic negative change.

The book is also appealing to the readers because it highlights the history and features of transformation, which took place in Jamaica. The book offers explains how colonialists, who resided in the country, formed their parliament and other administrative organs in the state. In my opinion, this historical transformation helps the country to find the strategies in which they can solve their problems, which they were encountering before the country acquired its independence.

Political violence helps the country to pursue important policies, such as market based economic policy. Furthermore, the government had also decided to do some structural improvements that are aimed at solving both social and economic problems which are influenced by the political violence. The reforms, which resulted from these initiatives, were liberalization and other programs, which are developed jointly and under the supervision of the International Monetary Fund. However, as far as I have examined, these policies and programs are not supposed to bring any remarkable change in few years to come. This negative forecast is based on the assumptions, such as the increased level of unemployment, increase in public borrowing and availability of high level of lawlessness.

I think that Irish-Bramblem has the capacity to help the readers understand the criteria of democracy and the overall economy of the country. This is because it explains why democratic form of government was very stable in the country since 1970s and 1980s, and how later the government realized the need for the adjustment in governance to satisfy many people. This is evident where the book observes that there was a reduction in political tribalism in the early 1990s, but there also some communities which the author called garrison, which still have state which exist within the country where many people are involved in the drug trafficking. The author mentioned that this kind of business has even paralyzed the election procedure in most of the constituencies. This helps the ruling elite to manipulate the voting technique, in order to support the two big political parties which are the two major rivals in Jamaica. Democracy is shown in Jamaica as a dream of free political participation in which each candidate is allowed to vie for any elected office in the country. This gives the reader the opportunity to estimate the degree of democracy in a country where national elections are made to be autonomous, and there is no manipulation of vote. This democratic right also helps the media groups to be able to express their suggestions in public without any tension.

It is of great benefit for the readers to read the book since it helps them to acknowledge the political design of behavior and attitude, which the political parties and the electorate may have during the election period. This is very important in the ascertainment of the best stable political institution which voters have to trust. This crave is demonstrated by the political and social actors of the democratic political party and, therefore, the party, which takes part in political struggle for their legitimacy, is being compromised. This is also indicated in Jamaica through their political and social integration in which the whole country only has two political parties. These parties are also free from ethnic division where even people in lower classes take part in politics, as well. The leadership of the party is fully integrated to include both the white and black representatives, without any race discrimination.

In my opinion, the book has failed to examine the past economic changes which capture poverty, lack of job opportunities, budget deficit and public borrowing which mostly affect the economic and social development of Jamaica. It also failed tremendously to give the criteria, based on which the countries can enhance its reforms strategies and the time, in which the organized reforms will be completely implemented to help the country achieve its development and political goals. I think that the book failed to mention the most important reform, which the country needs to implement. First, it has not been addressed in the book, although it is very important for the readers to know what can make them be free from the problems which result from the current reforms. In this book, those sectors of the economy, which need reforms, have not been mentioned; therefore, there are other problems, which have not been solved by the current reforms. These weaknesses resulted into weak judicial system, increased level of corruption and increased police brutality which also affect social and political status of the economy. There are also no recommendations on how to improve these problems, which would have been expected to be mentioned in the book. Such recommendations, which the author ought to have added in the book, embrace reinforcement of civil societies, in order to enhance the successful resolution of the above-mentioned problems. Although the book has provided a lot of inspiration to the readers, political situation in Jamaica builds on the overall economic, socio-cultural effects of political violence in the country. The author successfully brings out his point on how poor governance used violence to win over the electorate and how the reigning regimes subjected the local people to anarchy, in order to retain their powerful positions in the subsequent government regimes. In spite of these deficiencies, the book has omitted the following important facts and elements, which could be employed in conflict resolution and management.

Violence as a Public Health Problem

The authors of this book did not acknowledge violence as an important health problem to the general public as is in other forms of illnesses. This element cannot be overlooked because, in Jamaica, the population of the young people is on the rise, and it is them, who are involved in violent activities, as opposed to the elderly people in the society. The politicians yet again used the youths in Jamaica to stir post-election chaos for their own selfish gains. On such occasions, the young people become both the perpetrators and  the victims of the election violence. In talking this challenge, several intervention reforms and efforts must be directed towards the youth and address the causes of aggression in the young generation In Jamaica.

Role of Poverty in Violence

Poor governance in Jamaica decades after independence resulted in high poverty levels and hopelessness among the nationals. This led to increased crime levels and brainwashing of the youths, whereby it has become a common idea that they can only earn a living through crime and violence. This situation was an implication of the past violent experiences of the young people, which was a burden of their young age. However, besides the latter sentiment, there is a justification of current increased aggression and violence levels in Jamaica. The book fails to justify properly, how poverty is interlinked with political violence in Jamaica as this seems to be one of the major causes of violence in this country. This can make the reader want to seek more information on the relationship between poverty and violence from outside sources, other than this book.

Best Violence Prevention Mechanisms

This book outlines mechanisms to combat violence in Jamaica, such as the proper law enforcement, economic development and other socio-environmental elements, yet they are not the best mechanisms to use. The authors failed to bring out the best ways to reduce aggression, such as promotion of the right nonviolent attitudes and mentality in the youths, in order to avert their eroded minds. These are considered the best pliable measures to promote community values, such as love, togetherness and respect of the Jamaican diversity which can, in turn, be used as its strength in conquering the demons of violence. In order to address violence and the related problems effectively, the battle should be won in the minds of people by wooing the youth to adopt positive attitudes and rationality in all occasions.

Influence of the Media

In this book, the writers did not show the role of media in conflict resolution and peace building in a country, which is termed as the most violent nation in the world. It is perceived that violent shows trigger violence in young children who are exposed to watching the violent behaviors. The different types of Jamaican music such as DJ and dancehall can also promote violence amongst fans of different music genre in Jamaica. The media were also used in peace building mission by the several government leaders urging people to desist from violent activities, especially after the general elections in the Jamaican Republic.

Violence against Women

In Jamaica, the violence against women is very high ranging from school going girl child to adults. This is instigated by the high levels of crime and exposure to violence at a tender age. The worst part is that, in Jamaica, there is a great mistrust between the security enforcers and the citizens; hence, many of crimes against women are not reported to the relevant authorities. The author of this book does not capture this ordeal in a comprehensive manner. Moreover, he does not offer ways to empower women and young girls to stand up for their right and follow their dreams. The book does not clearly bring out the role of women in economic development of the nation either, albeit we know that an empowered woman assumes an empowered community. The results of the gender-based violence have resulted in poor health of the affected women population, due to fear and stigma as a result of the awful ordeal of this societal vice. The author of this book does not indicate the position of women in economic development in Jamaica and measures, which need to be taken to ensure efficient contribution of the women population to the nation’s building and successful development.

Violence Risk Factors

There are various risks factors that can spur violence in a nation such as unemployment, rural urban migration, poverty, and poor education system and narcotics trade. In Jamaica, the urban poor population is on the rise due to increased population of young people from poor backgrounds trying to earn a living. Justice is a rear serving in Jamaican courts, which are marred with corruption and victimization of the less wealthy people. This eventuality leads to high retaliatory conflict between the poor people and the local authorities resulting in immense violence. This book does not account violence risk factors, which can be used to correct this problem, breed equality and patriotism among all the countrymen.

Political Causes of Violence

Political unrests have been the most common feature of the Jamaican politician arena, where government used armed gangs in enforcing their leadership among the local communities, including intimidation and instilling fear in the electorate. The author of this book does not exhaustively analyze the negative effects of this mode of leadership in an economy of a country. This division of the communities with an aim to gain political grounds is ill advised, for example, the creation of garrison communities, which strengthens discord and hostility in the nation. This book does not give an account of inspirational leadership strategies that can re-ignite economic growth and development in this Caribbean country.

Economic Costs of Violence

The cost of treatment of violent injuries in the Jamaican economy has been enormously large as capped with the loss of man hours, which could be used in production processes. This book does not effectively cover the economic consequences of violence because of high medical costs on injuries inflicted by gangs on the vulnerable population in Jamaica.

I, therefore, wish that this book is fully addressing all people in the world, irrespective of class or race so that people are educated on the effects of violence in terms of the social and economic development. The people of the political class should take  a closer insight into this book so that they can understand what they are supposed to do during their campaigns, in order to avoid political violence, which can result in very many negative effects for the economy.

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