Global Regimes and U.S-Latin American Relations: Rethinking the Post-Cold War Era.
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Transcript of Global Regimes and U.S-Latin American Relations: Rethinking the Post-Cold War Era.
Global Regimes and U.S-Latin American Relations:
Rethinking the Post-Cold War Era
THE PROBLEM
How to conceptualize the connection between the global arena and U.S.-Latin American relations in the wake of the Cold War? And then 9/11?
Widespread view: little if any connectionMy contention: the connection exists but is complex and
contradictory
READINGS
Smith, Talons, chs. 9-11
DFC, Contemporary, chs. 1, 3
GUEST SPEAKERS
Apr 23 Adela Navarro (drugs in Mexico)May 07 Jeffrey Davidow (impacts of 9/11)May 14 David Shirk (drug violence)May 21 Tom Wong & Kathy Kopineck
(migration)May 28 Charles Shapiro (Venezuela)
After the Cold War: The Global Arena
1. Collapse of the Soviet Union
2. U.S. military primacy: the “unipolar moment”
3. “The End of History”?
4. Transnationalization and non-state actors
5. Process of “globalization”
6. Shift from geo-politics to “geo-economics”
7. Economic multipolarity: Europe, Japan, others?
ON “GLOBALIZATION”
• Factors:– End of Cold War=reduction of political barriers– Communication technologies– Transnational enterprises: production chains and consumer
markets– Movement of people and goods, legal and illegal
• Features:– Inexorability, inevitability– Politics the result of economics– Inclusion vs. exclusion?– Claim: no ideology
GEO-ECONOMICS: RULES OF THE GAME
1. Presumably “peaceful” competition
2. Positive-sum, not zero- or negative-sum
3. Goal: increase or guarantee share of economic benefits—without destroying (or even defeating) rivals
4. Strategy: Maintenance of global “stability”
5. Tactic: formation of “open” blocs
RULES OF THE GAME (cont.)
Competitive arenas: Consumer markets, natural resources (energy, water, etc.) Technology Financial markets
State roles: Direct participation Shaping of incentives Legitimacy on basis of “market discourse”
Regional integration: Strong seek to perpetuate primacy Weak seek to avoid exclusion Thus asymmetrical bargaining
North American Free Trade (NAFTA/1994)
U.S. Perspectives: Supplement to FTA with Canada Support for neoliberal reforms in Mexico Growing Mexican-American population within U.S.
Incentives for Mexico: Exhaustion of alternatives Need to stimulate growth Perpetuation of Salinista policies
Key Characteristics: Uneven levels of development Cultural and political variation Hub-and-spoke arrangements (with U.S. at center) Absence of supranational authority (preservation of sovereignty)
Assessing Results: The Problem of Cause-and-Effect
NAFTA in comparison with:
• Initial expectations (and political rhetoric)
• Liberalization (mid-1980s)
• Global and/or U.S. economic conditions
• Long-term economic and social trends
• Short-term shocks (e.g., Mexican peso crisis of 1994-95)
POLITICAL DIMENSIONS
The Public Assertion: Free Trade = Democracy
The Silent Bargain: International Dimensions
• Political stability and social peace
• Access to petroleum
• Leverage vis-à-vis economic rivals
• Compliance on foreign policy
The Procession of Free Trade
1. NAFTA (1994)
2. FTAA process (R.I.P.)
3. Bilaterals and minilaterals:
• U.S.-Chile (2004)• U.S.-Central America + D.R. (2005)• U.S.-Peru (2007)• U.S.-Colombia (2011)• U.S.-Panama (2011)
George W. Bush and theGlobal War on Terror
PHASE 1: BEFORE 9/11 High level of presidential interest Relationship with Mexico (and Vicente Fox) Near-agreement on immigration reform (?) Support for FTAA Administrative team Isolation of Cuba
PHASE 2: AFTER 9/11 Change in regional priorities Unilateralist impulses End of wholesale immigration reform
GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR:THE RULES OF THE GAME
1. Nations can respond however they choose—including the use of indiscriminate force.
2. Preventive action is appropriate and acceptable.
3. There is no need to adhere to international treaties or conventions.
4. Alliances are formed around one central issue—the anti-terror campaign under U.S. leadership. Support is black-white. Democracy and human rights are secondary issues.
5. Spectator nations must tread cautiously.
U.S. LOSS OF “SOFT POWER”
U.S. PRESTIGE IN LATIN AMERICA
CHANGING VIEWS OF U.S.
Distaste for Abu Ghraib, Haditha, “collateral damage” and loss of life
Solidarity with innocent civilians, hidden admiration for Osama bin Laden
Rejection of American society, not just U.S. foreign policy
Resentment of unilateral approachDistrust of democratic crusade
TWO-LEVEL GAMESGeo-economic game + new geopolitical game,
superimposed and simultaneousGeopolitics > geo-economics if necessary
Low priority for region Benefits of inattention (benign neglect?)
Examples: FTAs on basis of geopolitics Reluctance on immigration reform Allies in wars on drugs
Contradictions and trade-offs
…AND BARACK OBAMA?
Redefinition of war against terror Afghanistan > Iraq Al Qaeda ≠ Taliban Rules of game more subtly applied
Re Latin America, changes in rhetoric and emphasis rather than substance Immigration Drugs and drug trafficking FTAs Lingering effects