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Latin America in the World Arena, 2000-Present

Discussion Questions Ch. 16

Latin America in the World Arena, 2000-Present

1. What have been the impacts on U.S.-Latin American relations of 9/11 and the “global war on terror”?

• Has democratization in Latin America led to improved cooperation with the United States?  Or, instead, has it strengthened popular demands for autonomy from the “Colossus of the North”?

• Many of President Obama’s supporters have expressed dismay over his apparent disinterest in the Western Hemisphere.  Were their hopes unrealistic?  Is presidential inattention and/or inaction due to (a) pressing issues in other parts of the world, (b) political opposition in the U.S. Congress, or (c) lack of personal knowledge about the region?

• How would you assess the prospects for major policy reform with regard to drug trafficking in the Americas?  What are the most desirable options and what are the most plausible?

• Is U.S. power declining in the Western Hemisphere?  Why and in what ways?

• Various countries of Latin America—especially in South America—have been seeking economic and political relationships with powerful nations and regions outside the Western Hemisphere.  Will this prove to be a long-term tendency?  Or is it a short-term reaction to present-day conditions?

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