U.S.-LATIN AMERICAN
RELATIONS
Political Science 146A
Peter H. Smith
Why This Course?
•
•
•
•
•
Convenience or program requirements
Economic opportunities, emerging markets
Presence in southern California
Insights on American society
Perspectives on U.S. foreign policy:
How do strong countries treat weaker
ones?
Key Questions
• What is the current state of U.S. relations
with Latin America?
• What (if anything) is unique or “new” about
the present situation? How much have we
seen before?
• Where is the relationship headed? What
might the future hold?
Design of the Course
• Course Structure and Conceptual
Approaches
• Historical Trends
1. The Imperial Era
2. The Cold War
3. Age of Uncertainty: The 1990s
The Post-Cold War Era
1.The New Economic Agenda
2.Drugs and Drug Trafficking
3.Illegal Immigration
9/11 and U.S.-Latin American Relations
George Bush and Latin America
What Can Latin America Do?
Required Readings
• Smith, Talons of the Eagle
• Tulchin and Espach, eds., Latin America in
the New International System
• Holden and Zolov, eds., Latin America and
the United States
• 146A Course Reader
Course Requirements
• Mid-term exam: Tuesday, February 10
(33 percent of grade)
• Final exam: Friday, March 19 (67 percent)
• Optional paper: Tuesday, March 2 (30
percent of grade, so mid-term = 20 percent
and final = 50 percent)
Teaching Assistants
• Lindsay Lavelle
• Heather Smith
• Lydia Tiede
Overview: Conceptual Approaches
1. Idealist (transnationalist)
•
•
•
•
•
Role of institutions
Democracy and peace
Construction of system
Interdependence and economic interests
Implications for U.S.-Latin American
relations
2. Realist
•
•
•
•
•
Quest for power
Emphasis on nation-state
State as rational, unitary actor
Anarchy rather than coordination
Implications for U.S.-Latin American
relations
3.Radical
•
•
•
•
•
Preeminence of social classes
State as tool of dominant class
Hierarchy (dependencia) rather than anarchy
Ideology rather than rationality
Implications for U.S.-Latin American relations
Postscript: Globalization as framework
or ideology
Popular Culture and U.S. Policy
• Question: Does popular culture matter?
Or public opinion?
• Selected propositions:
1. Public opinion has significant effects
2. Public opinion has little if any effect
3. State apparatus can mold and mobilize
public opinion, which in turn provides
legitimacy for elite decisions
“The Gringo in Mañanaland”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The hero discovers paradise
The hero has a dream about bananas
The hero has a problem with women
And with bandits
The hero calls in the Marines (who save
the day)
6. The bandits cooperate (from prison)
7. The Good Neighbors are happy