''Between Self-Determination and Dependency'' analyses the nature and trajectory of Jamaica's foreign relations during the period 1972 89. During this time the country tried to come to terms with the limits imposed and possibilities offered by the shifting internal and external power constellations. The central argument is that the relative autonomy of the Jamaican state with regard to the conduct of foreign relations grew smaller due to the evolution of a new international regime which in effect disallowed the political, social and economic experimentation which envisioned at the beginning of the period under examination. Neither the attempt at radical nationalism by the People's National Party (PNP), nor the 'accommodationist' stance of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) served to reduce Jamaica's structural dependency.

The analysis factors in the political and economic interests and policies of both domestic and foreign social forces as they negotiated the foreign policies of the Jamaican state. Thus, the text employs a more holistic perspective attempting to delineate the political economy underpinning the foreign policy of Jamaica during this time. It departs from earlier studies which tended to focus on the diplomatic history of the country's foreign relations without illuminating the various co-determinants that defined the context of state action.