HEAD of The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona’s Department of Government Dr Lisa Ann Vasciannie has warned that low voter turnout across the Caribbean is weakening the region’s ability to advocate effectively on major international issues, including nuclear safety and security.

Speaking on Tuesday at the inaugural Freedom Lecture hosted by the Norman Manley Law School in collaboration with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Vasciannie argued that while Caribbean countries have long relied on diplomacy, coalition building and international law to protect their interests, those efforts ultimately depend on strong democratic participation at home.

She said the Caribbean has never been insulated from the consequences of global geopolitical tensions, pointing to issues ranging from nuclear waste shipments through regional waters to the peaceful use of nuclear technology in health care, agriculture, food security and climate resilience.

However, Vasciannie warned that the region’s influence on those issues could be diminished if citizens become increasingly disengaged from the democratic process.

“However, the effectiveness of our diplomacy and advocacy ultimately rests on democracy at home, and there are some figures that we should be concerned about in this regard. Over the last year, at least seven Caribbean countries held elections, and if we look at the voter turnout in those elections, some of them have dipped to even 32 per cent,” she said.

Vasciannie’s warning comes against the backdrop of a broader decline in electoral participation across the Caribbean. Over the past year, at least seven countries in the region have held general elections, with voter turnout ranging from just over 50 per cent in Trinidad and Tobago to about 58 per cent in Suriname, while Jamaica recorded one of its lowest levels of electoral participation in history, with roughly four in every 10 eligible voters casting ballots in the 2025 General Election.

Although countries such as Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda and The Bahamas recorded comparatively stronger turnouts, political observers have increasingly pointed to a wider regional trend of shrinking voter participation, raising concerns about civic engagement and democratic legitimacy in small states that depend heavily on diplomacy, and coalition-building to influence global affairs.

She also highlighted Jamaica’s own voter participation, saying the country could not afford continued civic disengagement.

She noted that issues surrounding nuclear weapons and safety, should not be viewed as matters reserved for academics or international organisations, arguing that Caribbean citizens have a direct stake in the policies that govern them.

“Nuclear technology is not just an issue that can afford to remain in the lecture halls and the United Nations…When we speak of nuclear weapons, nuclear safety, disaster preparedness, environmental protection, and all of these issues, being a zone of peace, as the Caribbean has declared itself a number of times, it does not exempt us from these conversations. If anything, it places greater responsibility on us,” she added.

She said Caribbean governments must continue using diplomacy, multilateral engagement and international law to defend the region’s interests, but stressed that those efforts would only succeed if they were supported by an informed and engaged population.

“We must continue to use diplomacy, multilateral engagement, and international law to advocate for our interests and our values. But diplomacy alone is not enough. We must also invest in knowledge and in capacity…we need informed citizens,” she said.

Vasciannie argued that universities have a responsibility not only to prepare students for employment but also to equip them to participate meaningfully in public life and help shape national and regional policy.

“We educate our students, not just for employment…But we are also here to build a country and to build a region with technical, scientific, legal, and geopolitical strength to manage some of these issues beyond the war side of nuclear power,” she said.