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by Cynthia Barrow-Giles
I must confess that I cannot do justice to the memory of Professor Selwyn Ryan and his considerable contribution to the understanding of Caribbean politics in this piece, but the news of his death on Saturday, March 12, saddened me deeply, just as the untimely death of Professor Norman Girvan did.
These were formidable academics, pushing the boundaries of academic freedom and balancing scholastic endeavours with a profound appreciation of the public space which complemented their vast scholarly work.
Born in Trinidad and Tobago some eighty-six years ago, Selwyn Ryan had a long and distinguished career at the University of the West Indies, serving in various academic capacities, and ended his sojourn at the University as Director of SALISES, St. Augustine Campus.
He also provided yeoman service to his homeland serving in several advisory capacities including as a member of constitutional review exercises in Trinidad and Tobago.
His columns were a must-read with his sometimes-biting sarcasm, hard-hitting commentaries of the state of play in the region yet amusing. How well I recall his piece on corruption in the Caribbean, “mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most corrupt of us all”.
Much of what I teach in Caribbean politics is founded on the contributions of Professor Ryan to an understanding of the Caribbean space.
No one who has studied Caribbean politics with any degree of seriousness would have failed to read Selwyn Ryan. But Selwyn always attempted to make himself understandable to everyone, and for that reason, his work is a must-read for anyone outside of the academy with a modicum of interest in the Caribbean problematic.
Indeed, he is a go-to on almost all things to do with Caribbean politics, though much of his work for obvious reasons was on the politics of Trinidad and Tobago.
His enormous contribution to dismantling any notion that our system of government was beyond reproach and that democratic governance in the region is a finished project has defined the research agenda of many Caribbean scholars. His name will forever be synonymous with Caribbean politics. As he searched for meaning, he left us a rich legacy of Caribbean leadership, institutions, and politics.
Professor Ryan’s contribution to unpacking Caribbean politics is considerable.
His work covers a range of areas, including the study of political institutions, Caribbean politics, accountability and good governance, pathways to political leadership and leaders; as he also wrote extensively about political leaders – the politicians and the personality, (see for example his mammoth work [over 800 pages], on the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Eric Williams, titled, “Eric Williams: The Myth and the Man”, published in 2009), are but just a few of the issues that he variously examined in his attempt to bringing meaning to democratic governance in the Caribbean.
His 842 page work on Eric Williams in a sense represents a compendium of history and political psychology and pure politics.
He was always in search of the next project and spoke of writing a book on former Prime Minister Patrick Manning. He was by far, the leading scholar of Westminster in the Caribbean and certainly defined much of the research on this area in the region, just as he was easily the most influential political scientist in the region.
Professor Selwyn V.D. Ryan is the author of over 25 books, including Race and Nationalism in Trinidad & Tobago; Trinidad and Tobago: The Independence Experience, 1962-1987; Pathways to Power: Indians and the politics of national unity in Trinidad and Tobago; The Disillusioned Electorate:
The Politics of Succession in Trinidad and Tobago; Winner Takes All: The Westminster Experience in the Caribbean; Deadlock: Ethnicity and Electoral Competition in Trinidad and Tobago 1995-2002, Behind the Bridge which he co-authored with Roy McCree; Sharks and Sardines, which he co-authored with Lou Ann Barclay; Social and Occupational Stratification in Contemporary Trinidad and Tobago; The Muslimeen Grab for Power and his last major publication was his autobiography in 2019, “Ryan Recalls: Selwyn Ryan: His Memoirs”, in which Selwyn noted that: “Along the journey, I met many interesting personalities and I tried to tell my story in a simple manner so that it could be read by readers at all levels. This Collection brings together some of the many papers and photographs found amongst the boxes and files of my work over the years”.
Not too often do we have the opportunity to listen to, work with, and “lime” with greats such as Selwyn Ryan. But I was privileged to do so.
We will always be able to read his works and discern from them the character of the man, the breath of his knowledge, and his intellect, but many of us would not have had the opportunity to “lime” with him.
Quite apart from the usual socialising that for Caribbean scholars was probably the highlight of our annual Caribbean Studies Association Conference and which Selwyn Ryan led 1989-1990, we had other occasions to “Lime”.
I distinctly recall that at the Latin America Forum on Democracy, held in Mexico City, in December 2011, organized by the Federal Mexican Institute and the OAS, Department for Economic Cooperation and Observation, I spent much of my free time with Selwyn and his dear wife Janet, walking around Mexico City and just shopping.
Janet loved to shop as I do truthfully, and Selwyn – dutiful husband- was there almost all the time. But he was happy I was there and happier still that
Janet and I took to each other and was happy to leave the two of us in each other’s company as we window shopped and walked the downtown market.
Despite all his academic accomplishments, Selwyn Ryan was a modest fellow, quick to laugh and quick to take a mirror and hold it up not just for the Caribbean political and business elite but also himself and anyone else with whom he came into contact. He was rooted and grounded, easy to understand, easy to like, easy to respect. He was for me a phenomenal man, genuine and kind. His passing marks the departure of quite possibly the most prolific writer in Caribbean political science.
We bid you adieu!
Cynthia Barrow-Giles is Professor of Constitutional Governance and Politics, The UWI, Cave Hill Campus.
