The US and Latin America: What Lies Ahead?

On 4 November American voters will choose the 44th President of the United States. While the voters have learnt much about the US presidential candidates’ views on Iraq, Afghanistan and other key foreign policy issues, little has been said about relations with Latin America. Despite its importance to the US, Latin America has not emerged as a significant topic of debate in the campaign. Both candidates promise to forge stronger relations with Latin America. The Democratic candidate Barack Obama promises a relationship of equality among states and a ‘bottom-up’ approach to reducing poverty. The Republican candidate John McCain will look to trade and open markets to reignite growth and development. Neither candidate has addressed the impact of the current global financial crisis on future relations with Latin America. Important differences between McCain’s and Obama’s policies towards Latin American revolve around a few key issues, notably Cuba, the Colombia free trade agreement, homeland security/immigration and how to deal with resurgence of anti-American radical populism. The arrival of a new Administration in January 2009 will require building on the substantial legacy of the Bush Administration and forging new ties with key Latin American states in a period of major international economic turbulence and in the context of an altered geopolitical landscape

DIPL 3116 The Washington Seminar on Global Policy Challenges

This seminar-like course is focused on global challenges facing not just U.S. policy makers but statesmen, diplomats and citizens around the world. The primary focus will be upon the successes and failures encountered in global development in a period marked by numerous positives - overall reductions in violence, longer lives, poverty reduction, improved education - balanced against a daunting array of unresolved global challenges and threats, ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic, economic uncertainty, climate change/global warming and nuclear proliferation to racial tension, ethnic conflict and international terrorism. Central to the ongoing debate is reflection upon the ability of national leaders to preserve an international order capable of rising above mere anarchy and clashing national interests to promote peace, stability and mutual benefits. The transition from former President Donald Trump\u27s America First approach to international affairs to a more traditional effort to reassert American global leadership under President Joseph Biden provides an opportunity for study and in-depth reflection. These efforts to right the ship of state have encountered strong headwinds that include Vladimir Putin\u27s aggression against independent Ukraine, worsening U.S-China relations and growing economic and financial uncertainty in the post pandemic world. Critical topics to be examined and discussed include: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Great Power Competition, nuclear proliferation, international migration challenges, climate change and the race to dominate cyberspace. The course will examine cooperative efforts aimed at advancing shared interests, securing international cooperation and protecting the global commons. Particular attention will be paid to multilateral agreements and institutions, international norms and laws and cooperative efforts in a period of international turbulence. Washington, D.C. is a very cosmopolitan, international city. Serious effort will be made to understand how the people who reside here, American and otherwise, are shaped by the international environment and how they in turn undertake to influence and shape developments on the global stage. When possible, students will be given the chance to interact with present and past policy makers. The course to the extent possible will be conducted in seminar fonn based on discussions, reflections, debates and interactions between the seminar leader and the students. Where possible and pertinent, lectures, readings and seminar discussion will be supplemented with in-class discussion with policy practitioners. Sadly, the persistence of COVID-19 limits our ability to visit centers of decision-making and influence that will include government offices, the Congress, think tanks, NGOs, multilateral and regional organizations and foreign embassies. One caveat: This syllabus is not set in stone, especially in a period of rapid developments on the domestic and international scenes. The seminar leader reserves the right to alter readings and assignments and discussion topics in response to emerging policy challenges and significant events

Seminar on Global Policy Challenges

This seminar-like course is focused on global challenges facing not just U.S. policy makers but statesmen, diplomats and citizens around the world. The primary focus will be upon the successes and failures encountered in global development in a period marked by numerous positives- overall reductions in violence, longer lives, poverty reduction, improved education-balanced against a daunting array of unresolved global challenges and threats, ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic, economic uncertainty, climate change/global warming and nuclear proliferation to racial tension, ethnic conflict and international terrorism. Central to the ongoing the debate is reflection upon the ability of national leaders to preserve an international order capable of rising above mere anarchy and clashing national interests to promote peace, stability and mutual benefits. The ongoing transition from former President Donald Trump\u27s America First approach to international affairs to a more traditional assertion of American global leadership under President Joseph Biden provides an opportunity for in-depth reflection. The course will examine cooperative efforts aimed at advancing shared interests, securing international cooperation and protecting the global commons. Particular attention will be paid to multilateral agreements and institutions in a period when both face considerable headwinds and structural constraints. Washington, D.C. is a very cosmopolitan, international city. Serious effort will be made to understand how the people who reside here, American and otherwise, are shaped by the international environment and how they in turn undertake to influence and shape developments on the global stage. When possible, students will be given the chance to interact with present and past policy makers. The course to the extent possible will be conducted in seminar form based on discussions, reflections, debates and interactions between the seminar leader and the students. Where possible and pertinent, lectures, readings and seminar discussion will be supplemented with in-class discussion with policy practitioners. Sadly, the persistence of COVID-19 limits our ability to visit centers of decision-making and influence that will include government offices, the Congress, think tanks, NGOs, multilateral and regional organizations and foreign embassies. One caveat: This syllabus is not set in stone, especially in a period of rapid developments on the domestic and international scenes. The seminar leader reserves the right to alter readings and assignments and discussion topics in response to emerging policy challenges and significant events

The Washington Seminar on Global Policy Challenges

This seminar-like course is focused on global challenges facing not just U.S. policy makers but statesmen, diplomats and citizens around the world. The primary focus will be upon the successes and failures encountered in global development in a period marked by numerous positives- overall reductions in violence, longer lives, poverty reduction, improved education balanced against a daunting array of unresolved global challenges and threats, ranging from climate change and nuclear proliferation to ethnic conflict and international terrorism. Central to the ongoing the debate is reflection upon the ability of national leaders to preserve an international order that rises above mere anarchy and promotes peace, stability and mutual benefits. The course will examine cooperative efforts aimed at advancing shared interests, securing international cooperation and protecting the global commons. Particular attention will be paid to multilateral agreements and institutions in a period when both face considerable headwinds from the current leadership of the U.S. Washington, D.C. is a very cosmopolitan, international city. Serious effort will be made to understand how the people who reside here, American and otherwise, are shaped by the international environment and how they in turn undertake to influence and shape developments on the global stage. The course to the extent possible will be conducted in seminar form based on discussions, reflections, debates and interactions between the seminar leader and the students. Where possible and pertinent, lectures, readings and seminar discussion will be supplemented with in-class discussion with policy practitioners and when possible with visits to centers of decision-making and influence that will include government offices, the Congress, think tanks, NGOs, multilateral and regional organizations and foreign embassies. One caveat: No syllabus that sufficiently is dynamic and seeks to capture the tempo of change can be fixed in stone, especially in a period of rapid developments on the domestic and international scenes. The seminar leader reserves the right to alter readings and assignments and discussion topics in response to emerging policy challenges. All readings will be available online or distributed in class

DIPL 3115 The Washington Experience: Actors, Institutions and the Policy Process

This seminar-like course is focused on the Washington policy process in several dimensions: key actors, institutions and principles that influence the formation of US foreign policy and, more broadly, the conduct of and relationship between U.S. domestic and foreign policy. With Washington as its laboratory and testing ground, the course sets out to explore the growing number of players engaged in policymaking and the ever-expanding range of challenges the United States faces in a changing domestic and world order. Topics will range from responding to a pandemic and economic crisis to addressing the nation\u27s challenges of polarization, an apparent crisis in federalism, voting rights, racial division, inequality and social injustice. The course will focus on the opportunities and constraints Washington policy makers encounter on a daily basis. It will explore the dynamic interaction between domestic and foreign policy in the aftermath of the consequential elections of November 2020, the January 6 insurrection, the second impeachment of President Donald Trump, the 2022 mid-term elections and the initial two years of the Joe Biden presidency. Considerable attention will be given to the institutional foundations of American democracy: The Constitution, the Presidency, Congress and the Supreme Court as well as critical cabinet departments, particularly Defense, State, Homeland Security, and the intelligence community. Consideration will also be given to recurrent themes such as American exceptionalism and greatness versus national division and negative partisanship. The course to the extent possible will be conducted in seminar form, based on discussions, reflections, debates and interactions between the seminar leader and the students. When possible, outside experts will be invited to address the class. Regrettably COVID-19 partially limits the ability for in-person meetings and visits to federal buildings, think tanks and other Washington institutions. The hope is, as we return to a classroom setting, that in-person meetings and site visits will resume. One caveat: This syllabus is not set in stone, especially in a period of rapid developments on the domestic and international scenes. The seminar leader reserves the right to alter readings and assignments and discussion topics in response to emerging policy challenges and significant events

Seminar on Global Policy Challenges

This seminar-like course is focused on global challenges facing not just U.S. policy makers but statesmen, diplomats and citizens around the world. The primary focus will be upon the successes and failures encountered in global development in a period marked by numerous positives - overall reductions in violence, longer lives, poverty reduction, improved education - balanced against a daunting array of unresolved global challenges and threats, ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and nuclear proliferation to racial tension, ethnic conflict and international terrorism. Central to the ongoing the debate is reflection upon the ability of national leaders to preserve an international order capable of rising above mere anarchy and clashing national interests to promote peace, stability and mutual benefits. The course will examine cooperative efforts aimed at advancing shared interests, securing international cooperation and protecting the global commons. Particular attention will be paid to multilateral agreements and institutions in a period when both face considerable headwinds from the current leadership of the U.S. Washington, D.C. is a very cosmopolitan, international city. Serious effort will be made to understand how the people who reside here, American and otherwise, are shaped by the international environment and how they in turn undertake to influence and shape developments on the global stage. The course to the extent possible will be conducted in seminar form based on discussions, reflections, debates and interactions between the seminar leader and the students. Where possible and pertinent, lectures, readings and seminar discussion will be supplemented with in-class discussion with policy practitioners. Sadly, the persistence of COVID-19 limits our ability to visit centers of decision-making and influence that will include government offices, the Congress, think tanks, NGOs, multilateral and regional organizations and foreign embassies. One caveat: This syllabus is not set in stone, especially in a period of rapid developments on the domestic and international scenes. The seminar leader reserves the right to alter readings and assignments and discussion topics in response to emerging policy challenges and significant events

The Washington Experience: Actors, Institutions and the Policy Process

This seminar-like course is focused on the Washington policy process in several dimensions: key actors, institutions and principles that influence the formation of US foreign policy and, more broadly, the interactions of U.S. foreign, domestic policy and the political process. With Washington as its laboratory, the course will explore the growing number of players engaged in policymaking; the ever-expanding range of challenges policymakers face in a rapidly changing world. Attention to the environment - order to a constrained and conflictive national budget; the overlap of international and national agencies in the nation’s capital; and the interplay of government and non-governmental actors. Factor of polarization - The course to the extent possible will be conducted in seminar form based on discussions, reflections, debates, written and oral presentations and the interactions between the seminar leader and the students. Where possible and pertinent, lectures, readings and seminar discussion will be supplemented with in-class discussion with policy practitioners and when possible with visits to centers of decision-making and influence that will include government offices, the Congress, think tanks, NGOs and foreign embassies. One caveat: No syllabus that sufficiently is dynamic and seeks to capture the tempo of change can be fixed in stone, especially in a period of rapid developments on the domestic and international scenes. The seminar leader reserves the right to alter readings and assignments and discussion topics in response to emerging policy challenges

Seminar on Global Policy Challenges

This seminar-like course is focused on global challenges facing not just U.S. policy makers but statesmen, diplomats and citizens around the world. The primary focus will be upon the successes and failures encountered in global development in a period marked by numerous positives- overall reductions in violence, longer lives, poverty reduction, improved education-balanced against a daunting array of unresolved global challenges and threats, ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic, economic uncertainty, climate change/global warming and nuclear proliferation to racial tension, ethnic conflict and international terrorism. Central to the ongoing the debate is reflection upon the ability of national leaders to preserve an international order capable of rising above mere anarchy and clashing national interests to promote peace, stability and mutual benefits. The ongoing transition from former President Donald Trump’s America First approach to international affairs to a more traditional assertion of American global leadership under President Joseph Biden provides an opportunity for in-depth reflection. The course will examine cooperative efforts aimed at advancing shared interests, securing international cooperation and protecting the global commons. Particular attention will be paid to multilateral agreements and institutions in a period when both face considerable headwinds and structural constraints. Washington, D.C. is a very cosmopolitan, international city. Serious effort will be made to understand how the people who reside here, American and otherwise, are shaped by the international environment and how they in turn undertake to influence and shape developments on the global stage. When possible, students will be given the chance to interact with present and past policy makers. The course to the extent possible will be conducted in seminar form based on discussions, reflections, debates and interactions between the seminar leader and the students. Where possible and pertinent, lectures, readings and seminar discussion will be supplemented with in-class discussion with policy practitioners. Sadly, the persistence of COVID-19 limits our ability to visit centers of decision-making and influence that will include government offices, the Congress, think tanks, NGOs, multilateral and regional organizations and foreign embassies. One caveat: This syllabus is not set in stone, especially in a period of rapid developments on the domestic and international scenes. The seminar leader reserves the right to alter readings and assignments and discussion topics in response to emerging policy challenges and significant events