Publications

State of Mind, is an honest, unflinching look at Jamaican politics. Chris Tufton’s grounded, accessible account of his first-hand experience in competitive party politics and democratic governance offers a view of Jamaican politics that is rarely seen.

From his political formation in high school to his joining Young Jamaica at the University of the West Indies as a student, Tufton shares a detailed account of his involvement with the National Democratic Movement, his return to the Jamaica Labour Party and his subsequent successful run for a seat in parliament in 2007. The nuanced, reflective account of his time in office as a cabinet minister, alongside his role as a deputy leader of the JLP, gives an insider perspective on the challenges of leadership.

State of Mind offers a realistic view of the weaknesses in Jamaica’s democracy, and the factors that keep Jamaica from moving forward as it ought to. Throughout his telling of the details and dynamics of the nitty-gritty of Jamaican politics, Tufton candidly shares aspects of his own life as he grapples with the role of the church, race, colour, gender, and other controversial issues on society at large.