The Difficult Flowering of Suriname examines the complex ethnic composition of Surinamese society and its impact on political evolution. Edward Dew analyzes how Afro-Surinamese, Hindustani, Javanese, Amerindian, and Maroon communities interact within a plural society marked by historical divisions and competing political interests. The book discusses the challenges of nation-building, democrati…
The Difficult Flowering of Suriname advances the argument that ethnic politics in a democratic plural society need not degenerate into dictatorship or anarchy. A detailed political history of one of the most heterogeneous societies in the Caribbean, The Difficult Flowering of Suriname focusses on the emergence of Creole, Hindustani, and Javanese political parties in the 1940s (in the context of…