US Hegemony and the Americas


Book Description

In this book, Arturo Santa-Cruz advances an understanding of power as a social relationship and applies it consistently to the economic realm in United States relations with other countries of the Western Hemisphere. Following the academic and popular debate on the ebb and flow of US hegemony, this work centers the analysis in a critical case for the exercise of US power through its economic statecraft: the Americas—its historical zone of influence. The rationale for the regional focus is methodological: if it can be shown that Washington's sway has decreased in the area since the early 1970s, when the discussion about this matter started, it can be safely assumed that the same has occurred in other latitudes. The analysis focuses on three regions: North America, Central America and South America. Since each region contains countries that have at times maintained very different relationships with the United States, the findings contribute to a better understanding of the practice of US power in the sub-region in question, adding greater variability to the overall results. US Hegemony and the Americas: Power and Economic Statecraft in International Relations is an invaluable resource for students and scholars interested in Latin American History and Politics, North American Regional Integration, International Relations, Economic Statecraft, Political Economy and Comparative Politics.




The Caribbean Basin Initiative


Book Description




Jamaica and the United States Caribbean Basin Initiative


Book Description

The Caribbean Basin Initiative, the most recent of a long list of United States policy initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean, continues to intrigue readers. This study is an analysis of United States Foreign Policy in the Caribbean and Central America in general, and Jamaica in particular with special emphasis on the Caribbean Basin Initiative. The study focuses on answering a number of important questions regarding the impact of the CBI on the economic and socio-political conditions of the Island-Nation brought on earlier by the turbulent US/Jamaica relations of the Michael Manley administration, 1972-1980.




Imperial Power and Regional Trade


Book Description

The election of Ronald Reagan as President of the United States in November 1980 opened a new chapter in international relations; U.S. foreign policy shifted from an alliance-based, consensual approach to one based on a more overt use of its immense economic and, above all, military power. This policy entailed some stark choices for the U.S.A.’s allies and neighbours and, above all, for the small countries of Central America and the Caribbean. This revealing book tells the story of the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), through which the new assertion of U.S. hegemony in the region was expressed. The CBI entitled “friendly” countries of the region (i.e., excluding Cuba, pre-invasion Grenada and Nicaragua) to military and economic aid plus incentives, modelled on the so-called “Puerto Rican miracle,” so as to reorient their trade towards the U.S.A. The authors carefully compare the claims made for the CBI with its underlying political objectives and examine its actual impact on regional development through detailed case studies of the Eastern Caribbean and Trinidad. Also examined are the impact of the CBI on Caribbean regional integration and the responses of Canada and Britain, the two other major countries with long-standing political and economic interests in the Caribbean. What emerges from this investigation is the way the CBI reflects the U.S.A.’s historic quest for regional dominance, rather than a new era in Caribbean development.







The New Political Economy of United States-Caribbean Relations


Book Description

This informative book brings a fresh perspective to the continuing debate about globalization and regionalization in the global political economy and the ways in which state policy, in both developed and developing countries, shapes the patterns of economic integration and competitiveness among participating countries and firms. Focusing on the United States and the Caribbean, the book traces the advent and subsequent growth of production sharing between outsourcing textile, apparel firms and assembly operations located in specially designated export processing zones. This case study allows a number of broad conclusions to be reached regarding the political economy of production sharing that will inform the work of those in the fields of international and comparative political economy, development studies and business and management.




Bush II, Obama, and the Decline of U.S. Hegemony in the Western Hemisphere


Book Description

Bush II, Obama, and the Decline of U.S. Hegemony in the Western Hemisphere applies competing definitions and conceptions of hegemony to various foreign policy initiatives and events during the administrations of George W. Bush and Barack H. Obama to test whether they manifest a decline in traditional United States dominance and leadership in the Western Hemisphere. In particular, the book examines the continued relevancy of the Inter-American system, the failure to establish a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), and the stillborn Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA). It also discusses the implications of the People’s Republic of China becoming a major trading partner and important source of financing and investment capital throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The book provides critical reviews of Plan Colombia, the Merida Initiative, Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas, the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI), the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), 100,000 Strong in the Americas, and the restoration of normal U.S. diplomatic relations with Cuba. There are extensive analyses, unusual for a work in English, on the Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (ALBA), Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y del Caribe (CELAC), and Unión de Naciones Suramericanas (UNASUR).




Politics and Development in the Caribbean Basin


Book Description

"Grugel... has produced a first-rate introduction to the development dilemmas confronting the peoples of the Caribbean and Central America.... The book will enlighten general readers with an interest in the politics of geopolitical and economic dependency. And for appreciating the remaining difficulties facing small nations attempting equitable and harmonious development, it will remind Caribbean and Central American specialists just how valuable a good comparative analysis can be." --Foreign Affairs "... excellent comparative survey of the political economy of the Caribbean Basin... " --Choice This wide-ranging survey of the political economy of the Caribbean Basin and its position in the emerging global order also assesses the attempts by revolutionary regimes in the region to create alternative models of development and the reasons for their failure.




Interregionalism and International Relations


Book Description

Interregionalism, the institutionalized relations between world regions, is a new phenomenon in international relations. It also a new layer of development in an increasingly differentiated global order. This volume examines the structure of this phenomenon and the scholarly discourse it is generating. It takes stock of empirical facts and theoretical explanations, bringing together with clarity and concision the latest research on this key area. This essential new book: * traces the emergence of interregionalism and reviews the latest literature * provides a conceptual and theoretical framework for study * includes case studies of inter-regional relations between: Asia and America; Asia and Europe; Europe and America; and Europe and Africa. * delivers comparative analyses and special cases such as continental summits and interregional relationships beyond the Triad. * summarizes and evaluates the findings of each chapter, providing a basis for further research. This is a key reference book for students and researchers of regionalism, global governance and international relations.




Peace, Development and Security in the Caribbean


Book Description

A collection of interdisciplinary essays which attempt to analyze cultural, economic, political and social diversities and resources from alternative regional and international viewpoints. The contributors are scholars familiar with the intricacies and idiosyncracies of Caribbean development.