Latin American Security Challenges: A Collaborative Inquiry from North and South

Download or read book Latin American Security Challenges: A Collaborative Inquiry from North and South written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Newport Paper 21, "Latin American Security Challenges: A Collaborative Inquiry from North and South," helps reopen the door to serious analyses of the relationship between Latin American national security issues and American strategic interests. The monograph consists of an introduction and conclusion and three substantive essays analyzing specific issues facing Latin America. The first essay, "Latin America's Lawless Areas and Failed States," builds upon the concepts of failed states and borderless regions to suggest how criminals and perhaps terrorists can find refuge and support in localities outside the control of states. The second essay, "Security Implications of Poor Economic Performance in Latin America," provides a solid introduction to the interconnection of economic behavior and the national security threats facing both Latin American governments and the United States. The final essay, "Chinese Interests in Latin America," speculates on the interest of China in the region, with particular attention to the potential roles played by immigration and Chinese ownership of firms charged with operation of both access ports to the Panama Canal. It is the authors' hope that this work will help reinvigorate sound thinking about U.S. policies toward Latin America and encourage closer cooperation between strategists and scholars in both regions. Such cooperation would provide real benefits to the national security communities and military establishments in the United States and many critical Latin American countries. The work published in this volume represents an important effort by scholars in Argentina and the United States to share assessments of security challenges and options available to governments throughout the Americas. The result is a set of assessments from North and South as researchers in the two countries have grappled to reach shared judgments and policies that make sense at both ends of the hemisphere.