Sylabus
Contemporary Issues in Relations Between Latin America and the Caribbean and the United States
Professor Richard E. Feinberg
Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
Spring, 2018
Tuesday, April 24: U.S. Interests in Latin America; Latin American Options
Richard Feinberg et al, Better than You Think: Reframing Inter-American Relations (Brookings Institution Policy Paper, 2015). https://www.brookings.edu/research/better-than-you-think-reframing-inter-american-relations/
Roberto Russell and Juan Gabriel Tokatlian, “Beyond Orthodoxy: Asserting Latin America’s New Strategic Options Toward the United States,” Latin American Politics and Society, 53, 4, 2011.
Discussion questions
- What are the sources of national interests?
- What is the relationship between U.S. global and regional interests?
- How successful has the U.S. been in advancing its interests in the Americas?
- In what ways has DJT challenged traditional definitions of U.S. national interests and what might be the impact on inter-American relations?
Thursday, April 26: The Collective Defense of Democracy; Dealing with Radical States
Inter-American Democracy Charter, available at www.oas.org
OAS Sec. Gen. Luis Almagro, “The Challenges of Democacy and Human Rights in the Americas,” April 7, 2017. http://www.oas.org/en/about/speech_secretary_general.asp?sCodigo=17-0051
International Crisis Group, “Venezuela: Hunger by Default,” 2017, https://www.crisisgroup.org/latin-america-caribbean/andes/venezuela/b37-venezuela-hunger-default
Oliver Stuenkel and Andreas Feldmann,“The Unchecked Demise of Nicaraguan Democracy,” http://carnegieendowment.org/2017/11/16/unchecked-demise-of-nicaraguan-democracy-pub-
Discussion questions on democracy promotion
- What levers does the international community, and the United States, have to promote democracy? What is an optimal mix of bilateral and multilateral strategies?
- What roles can international organizations (OAS, UN) and sub-regional organizations (ALBA, Rio Group, CELAC) play?
- Consider the tensions between democracy promotion and national sovereignty.
- Be ready to offer cases of successes and failures of democracy promotion.
Discussion questions on Venezuela
- What factors accounted for the rise of Chavismo, and for the implosion of populism?
- Why has the international community been so impotent?
- Did ALBA serve Venezuelan foreign policy goals?
- Posit strategies for the U.S., OAS/UN, and the Lima Group.
Discussion questions on Nicaragua
- What were the causes of the Nicaraguan revolution of 1979?
- What strategies did the U.S. and other regional nations employ in the run-up to the 1979 revolution?
- How has Ortega been able to consider his power since 2006?
- What can the international community do to promote democracy/HR?
Monday, April 30: Mexico; Counter-narcotics
Shannon K. O’Neil, “The Mexican Standoff: Trump and the Art of the Workaround,” Foreign Affairs, September/October 2017.
Discussion Questions on Mexico
- Has NAFTA served Mexican and US interests?
- Are US and Mexican interests regarding border security, immigration aligned or divergent?
- What are Mexico’s options for responding to DJT?
Christopher Coyne and Abigail Hall, “Four Decades and Counting: The Continued Failure of the War on Drugs,” Cato Institute, 2017: https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/pa-811-updated.pdf
Discussion Questions on Counter-narcotics
- What are the best metrics for measuring “progress” in counter-narcotics?
- What explains the persistence of obviously failed public policies?
- What strategies have produced the best results?
- What are long-term solutions?
- What impact will marijuana legalization in US states have?
Wednesday, May 2: Brazil; China
Matias Spektor, “Five Goals for Brazil’s Foreign Policy,” October, 2016: http://www.americasquarterly.org/content/five-goals-brazils-new-foreign-policy
Discussion questions on Brazil
- Why has Brazil struggled for establish its leadership status?
- Which domestic reforms are required for Brazil to realize its foreign policy aspirations?
- Is a strong Brazil in the interests of its neighbors? Of the United States?
Atlantic Council, Chinese FDI in Latin America, http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/images/publications/Chinese_FDI_in_Latin_America_web_0626.pdf
Discussion questions on China
- What we do know about China’s short and long-term goals in Latin America?
- Can we see an evolution of Chinese rhetoric and actions in Latin America?
- Which Chinese policies are congruent with Latin American interests, which are not?
- Can/Should Latin America present unified positions vis a vis China?
- Is China a “threat” to U.S. interests in Latin America?
Friday, May 4: Cuba
Richard Feinberg, Cuba’s Economy After Raul Castro: A Tale of Three Worlds (Brookings Institution Policy Brief, 2018).
Discussion questions
- Was confrontation inevitable between the U.S. and the Cuban revolution?
- What were the major initiatives of the Obama administration and how have they been amended by DJT?
- What at the linkages between U.S. policies and internal economic and political developments in Cuba?
- What next?