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Latin America: More Important Than Ever
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20622 |
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Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
Date : |
10 / 1992 |
1,429 Words |
| Author
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Howard J. Wiarda
Howard J. Wiarda is professor of political science at the
University of Massachusetts at Amherst, professor national
security studies at the National Defense University, and
visiting scholar at the Center for Strategic and International
Studies (CSIS). He was lead consultant to the National
Bipartisan (Kissinger) Commission on Central America and is
the author of Rift and Revolution: The Central American
Imbroglio and The Democratic Revolution in Latin America. |
The astounding events of the last two years--the transformation of Eastern Europe and the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, German unification and the further integration of Europe, and the perception of Japan as the premier global economic power--force us not only to rethink our foreign policy and interests in these areas of the globe, but also to reorder our priorities among the world's regions. In this consideration, Latin America comes off looking better and better.
Latin America has not historically been thought of a among our highest foreign policy priorities. Rank ordering our areas of fundamental strategic interest, one would have to have placed the Soviet relationship first, Europe and NATO second, Japan third, the Middle East fourth, China fifth, and either (depending on the time period and circumstances) Southeast Asia (Vietnam) or Southwest Asia (India/Pakistan) sixth. Only after these higher regional priorities would Latin America be considered, vying at times with Africa for last place.
American policy in the hemisphere reflected these priorities. Policy towards Latin America alternated between "benign neglect" (which usually proved not be so benign) and dramatic intervention. Never did we develop the mature, positive policy toward Latin America that has long been sorely needed. Under Secretary of State James Baker, Latin America has been finessed: Central America is now off the front burner, indeed the entire region is off the stove altogether.
Process of Elimination
The changes in the world force us to rethink our historic indifference and condescension toward Latin America. Latin America should be elevated in importance, not diminished. For the first time, this is a matter of rationally advancing our interests and no longer, as in the past, of merely trying to be nice (when it was convenient) to Latin America. Let us look at the other regions and see, by process of elimination, why this is so.
The (former) Soviet Union. Yes, of course we need to be wise with regard to the nuclear arsenal and the dangers it poses, and it would be advantageous to consolidate our victory in the Cold War by helping to establish a democratic, open-market system. But that will take 20-30 years, and in the meantime, the area will remain in turmoil. Hence, we need to ask: With the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the collapse of its military threat, do we still have vital security interests there? The answer is,
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