Reclaiming History to Rebuild the Present. A qualitative case study of stakeholder perceptions on reparations for slavery as a development strategy in Jamaica

Abstract: In 2014, Caribbean countries declared to claim reparations for slavery from former colonising states. A Reparative Justice Framework covering ten points of action formulated reparations as a regional development strategy, widening stakeholders to include development actors and focalising beneciaries to those disproportionally suering from post-slavery legacies. Jamaica is signatory to the claim, and a regional precursor for reparations activism on multiple levels, including by Rastafarians and other local advocates. However, a complex post-colonial history, including discrimination of Rastafarians, seemingly impedes multistakeholder national endorsement. Yet, public mobilisation is a priority to forward the case. This qualitative case study lls a scholarly gap in the case-specic research by investigating broad stakeholder perceptions in Jamaica to identify and explain areas of contestation impacting on public endorsement of reparations conceived as a development strategy. Thematic analysis of empirical data from interviews and focus group discussions distinguished three loci: diverging development conceptualisations, redistribution and representation. Findings were analysed using Honneth's critical theory of recognition, framing recognition as a central concept to comprehend emergent contradictions and complexities. The analysis suggests that historically originated but unresolved frictions, manifested through a system of inadequate institutions, entail multidimensional recognitive denial which ultimately hamper global, cross-sectoral support.