Politics in a Half Made Society tells the story of twentieth-century politics in the twin island of Trinidad and Tobago. The book provides a narrative and analytical account beginning in 1925, when the first elections were held, and continuing up to 2001 with the two major political parties in a historical deadlock for which formal constitutional arrangement did no cater.

The book is divided into four sections, each underlining the important stages of Trinidad’s political history, Part One – Prelude to Self-government – deals with Trinidad’s move towards the establishment of party politics between 1925 and 1953; Part Two – The Long Reign of Eric Williams – recounts the political shrewdness of this prime minister and the peculiar challenges he faced while in power; Part Three – Paved with Good Intentions: The Rise and Fall of the National Alliance for Reconstruction – examines the failure of the Chambers administration to sustain the political and economic gains made during the Williams years, covers the attempted coup of 1990 and assesses the NAR’s performance; Part Four – Toward Stalemate: Structural Adjustment, Indian Arrival and Slim Majorities – looks at the political configuration of the 1990s after structural adjustment and Basdeo Panday’s coming to power.