Los Estados Unidos y Colombia: Una sociedad ambigua.

The complexity of the political relationship between the U.S. and Colombia, the diverse variables intertwined in the bilateral relations and the sensitivity of the issues arising in the U.S. whenever a decision involving Colombian affairs is made are some of the topics discussed in this paper. The evolution of the various American positions towards Colombia over the last year and the analysis of the current situation constitute the muddle that the author disentangles in this open-ended article

Lan American Coups: Have They Vanished or Taken New Shapes?

In the following pages, three well-known Latinoamericanists share their views on the current prospects for coups in Latin America. They are: Rut Diamint of the University Torcuatto de Tella in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Pablo Policzer of the University of Calgary in Canada; and Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, DC. Each looks at the potential for coups from different perspectives but, all three come to similar conclusions. That is, that despite substantial gains in democracy, the threat of coups in Latin America remains latent. The authors agree that democracy is growing in the region. Opinion surveys such as the Americas Barometer consistently show that citizens in Latin America have gradually incorporated democracy as part of their core value system. Yet, the authors argue convincingly that Latin America faces new types of interruptions to its democratic process that should be considered coups, even if not following the traditional style of military coup that predominated in the past. Situations that have taken place in Peru, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Honduras and other countries serve to illustrate the new trends. More specifically, Professor Diamint argues that in Latin America a culture of intolerance, demonization of the opposition, and the utilization of any method to achieve power prevails. In a region with a very high threshold of violence, governments fail to set an example of establishing a culture of debate, consensus, and transparency. This culture is inclined to uncontrollable political expressions, preferring confrontational means to resolve conflict. Within this scenario, “messianic” solutions are promoted and coups cannot be discarded as an option that would never transpire. Professor Policzer looks more closely to the constitutional loopholes that allow for a transformation of limited into absolute power. He argues that coups can be constitutional or unconstitutional, and that a constitutional coup can occur when violations to democracy actually stem from the constitutions themselves. In Honduras, for example specific provisions in the Constitution itself created conditions for a constitutional crisis; similar provisions have also led to constitutional authoritarianism in Venezuela and other countries. Dr. Policzer stresses that when a head of state or the military take absolute power, even temporarily, based on provisions in their constitutions; they are in essence staging a constitutional coup. These blind spots in constitutions, he argues, may be more serious threat to democracy than that of traditional coups. Lastly, Dr. Shifter argues that some kind of coup should be expected in Latin America in coming years, not only because fundamental institutions remain weak in some countries, but because the regional political environment is less prepared to respond effectively to transgressions than it was a few years ago. The good news, however, is that only a handful of countries, show no interest in governing. The bad news is that in those few countries where situations are indeed shaky, they are also in some cases aggravated by rising food and fuel prices, and spreading criminality, which pose serious risks to the rule of law and democratic governance

One future or many? November 14, 15, and 16, 2002

This repository item contains a single issue of the Pardee Conference Series, a publication series that began publishing in 2006 by the Boston University Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future. This was the Center's 2nd annual Conference that took place during November 14, 15, and 16, 2002.The conference brought together some 30 experts from various disciplines to discuss whether the trajectories of the future will be ‘global’ or ‘regional’ in nature. Different panels looks at the future trajectories for Europe, the Western Hemisphere, Central Asia and the Former Soviet Union, and on Asia and in each case the discussion looked at the relative importance of the regional and of global dynamics on teh forces shaping the future of these regions.Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affair

The United States and Colombia: an ambiguous partnership

The complexity of the political relationship between the U.S. and Colombia, the diverse variables intertwined in the bilateral relations and the sensitivity of the issues arising in the U.S. whenever a decision involving Colombian affairs is made are some of the topics discussed in this paper. The evolution of the various American positions towards Colombia over the last year and the analysis of the current situation constitute the muddle that the author disentangles in this open-ended article.Instituto de Relaciones Internacionales (IRI

The United States and Colombia: an ambiguous partnership

The complexity of the political relationship between the U.S. and Colombia, the diverse variables intertwined in the bilateral relations and the sensitivity of the issues arising in the U.S. whenever a decision involving Colombian affairs is made are some of the topics discussed in this paper. The evolution of the various American positions towards Colombia over the last year and the analysis of the current situation constitute the muddle that the author disentangles in this open-ended article.Instituto de Relaciones Internacionales (IRI

Seguridad y cooperación interamericana en la sub región andina (Tema Central)

Este artículo convoca a adoptar una posición equilibrada en el análisis de las dimensiones e implicaciones que las crisis individuales de los países andinos tienen para la seguridad subregional. El autor parte de la premisa de que EE.UU. carece de una política clara frente a los problemas de la subregión y sostiene que en este país existe una sensación de pérdida de control, que hace que el tema del narcotráfico se convierta en el único con resonancia política. El autor plantea la necesidad de desarrollar un enfoque multilateral que garantice la seguridad subregional, y coloca a la crisis colombiana como la más grave y preocupante.This article calls for a balanced analysis of the implications of each one of the individual crises hitting the Andean This article calls for a balanced analysis of the implications of each one of the individual crises hitting the Andean countries. The author claims that the U.S: lacks a clear policy towards the Andean region, that in the U.S. there is a sense that conflicts have gone out of control, and that drug trafficking appears as the only problem with political resonance. The article argues for a multilateral approach geared to guaranteeing regional security, and identifies the Colombian crisis as the most threatening for the whole region