Youth exclusion is framed as a threat to the sustainability of the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM), yet the literature on youth development lacks
analysis of the inclusiveness of regionalist frameworks of governance. This
article argues that recent changes to regional youth development strategies
potentially support the emergence of a regional citizenship construct.
Drawing on a qualitative text analysis of focal decisions, declarations and
strategies from 1973 – 2012, it documents a shift from an instrumentalist