Issues in International Political Economy: The Derivative Nature of U.S. Hemispheric Policy

July 16, 2007

U.S. relations with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have long been unsatisfactory. Many U.S. scholars attribute this to protracted periods of neglect of the LAC region, interspersed with periods of constructive engagement as well as with hegemonic interference. This description is accurate but is more symptom than explanation. Others believe the problem is the failure of most LAC countries to achieve sustained economic growth or successful self-government, coupled with a tendency to blame others for their own shortcomings. This observation gets closer to an explanation. I prefer another interpretation; namely, that U.S. policy drawing on the considerations stated above generally has little to do with intrinsic aspirations of the region. Instead, U.S. policy is dominated by global and domestic concerns that are then reflected in a reactive and usually inappropriate fashion in LAC.