Dialogue Staff and Members Featured in New Book on US- Latin American Policy
Several of the Inter-American Dialogue’s staff and members contributed to a new Brookings Institution volume, The Obama Administration and the Americas: Agenda for Change, featuring recommendations for how the Obama administration should approach several key countries in the hemisphere. Dialogue vice president for policy Michael Shifter wrote a chapter on Colombia, “Seven Steps to Improve U.S.-Colombia Relations;” vice president for democratic governance Marifeli Perez-Stable wrote a chapter on Cuba, “Cuba in Transition: The Role of External Actors;” and senior associate for U.S. policy Dan Erikson wrote a chapter on Haiti, “Haiti’s Political Outlook: What the United States Should Do.” In addition, Dialogue member George Gray Molina wrote a chapter on Bolivia, “The United States and Bolivia: Test Case for Change,” and Dialogue co-founder Abe Lowenthal is an editor and wrote an overview chapter, “Renewing Cooperation in the Americas.” The full Table of Contents is available here.
The editors will be presenting the book at a public forum on Wednesday,
April 1 at 3:30 p.m. in the Brookings Falk Auditorium and will be
joined by Mexico’s Ambassador to the United States, Arturo Sarukhan.
“This useful volume by a stellar group of experts should be warmly welcomed by the Obama administration as it tries to reset the course of U.S. policy toward the Americas based on mutual respect and convergence of interests.” —Ambassador Thomas Pickering, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, 1997–2001
“Written by scholars and practitioners with a deep understanding of Latin American societies and politics, this excellent book will help craft a more constructive relationship between the region and the United States.”—Fernando Henrique Cardoso, President of Brazil, 1995–2003
WASHINGTON, D.C.—When President Barack Obama makes his regional debut at the fifth Summit of the Americas on April 17, he and the 33 democratically elected leaders of the region will be challenged by a complex agenda and a turbulent economic environment. To navigate through the prevailing headwinds, the United States will need to take a fresh approach, establishing common ground with our increasingly independent and globalized neighbors. The new Brookings Institution Press book The Obama Administration and the Americas: Agenda for Change (April 2009) shows how the United States can improve the quality of attention it devotes to the Americas.
Our neighbors to the south affect the daily lives of U.S. citizens on issues such as energy, narcotics, immigration, trade and jobs. Edited by Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow Abraham F. Lowenthal, Brookings Senior Fellow Theodore J. Piccone and University of Oxford Fellow Laurence Whitehead, The Obama Administration and the Americas suggests that the United States should seize an early opportunity to engage Latin America, recognizing the region’s diversity but also its shared concerns and aspirations. While other foreign policy issues may be more pressing, the book argues that the new administration should seek to rebuild inter-American cooperation and to refocus—in a nuanced, patient and sensitive way—on how to promote, strengthen and protect democratic governance in the Americas.
In this timely volume, top experts from Latin America, Europe and the United States consider such tough issues as bolstering fragile political change in Haiti, dealing with a controversial regime in Venezuela, navigating dramatic political change in Bolivia, confronting the breakdown of the rule of law in Mexico, and dealing thoughtfully with the ongoing transition in Cuba, including a proposal to open negotiations on returning the Guantanamo naval base. The contributors offer practical, and in many cases, bold recommendations for President Obama and his team.
The editors will be presenting the book at a public forum on Wednesday, April 1 at 3:30 p.m. in the Brookings Falk Auditorium and will be joined by Mexico’s Ambassador to the United States, Arturo Sarukhan.
“This timely, pragmatic volume … is an excellent addition to the reading list for policymakers, analysts, and practitioners alike.” —Thomas “Mack” McLarty, White House Special Envoy for the Americas, 1996–98
“It is finally possible, through frank dialogue, to build a new partnership in the Americas. The authors of this timely book give a promising and hopeful response.”—Ricardo Lagos, President of Chile, 2000–06
The Editors
Abraham F. Lowenthal is a professor of international relations at the University of Southern California and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. The founding president of the Pacific Council on International Policy, he was also the founding director of the Inter-American Dialogue.
Theodore J. Piccone is a senior fellow and deputy director for Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution. He serves as an adviser to the Club of Madrid and has served on the National Security Council, at the State Department and in the Pentagon.
Laurence Whitehead is an official fellow in politics at Nuffield College at the University of Oxford and editor of the Oxford Studies in Democratisation series. He is the author of Latin America: A New Interpretation (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005).
The Obama Administration and the Americas: Agenda for Change
Edited by Abraham F. Lowenthal, Theodore J. Piccone, and Laurence Whitehead
Foreword by Strobe Talbott
Brookings Institution Press
Pub date: April 1, 2009
235 pages
ISBN 978-0-8157-0309-9
$28.95/£20.99
Contributors: Carlos Elizondo (Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas), Daniel P. Erikson (Inter-American Dialogue), Bert Hoffmann (University of Hamburg), Ana Laura Magaloni (Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas), Jennifer McCoy (Georgia Tech University and the Carter Center), George Gray Molina (University of Oxford), Rodrigo Pardo (former foreign minister of Colombia and director of the magazine Cambio), Marifeli Pérez-Stable (Florida International University and Inter-American Dialogue), Michael Shifter (Inter-American Dialogue), Juan Gabriel Valdés (United Nations, formerly), and Daniel Zovatto (International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance).
Several of the Inter-American Dialogue’s staff and members contributed to a new Brookings Institution volume, The Obama Administration and the Americas: Agenda for Change, featuring recommendations for how the Obama administration should approach several key countries in the hemisphere. Dialogue vice president for policy Michael Shifter wrote a chapter on Colombia, “Seven Steps to Improve U.S.-Colombia Relations;” vice president for democratic governance Marifeli Perez-Stable wrote a chapter on Cuba, “Cuba in Transition: The Role of External Actors;” and senior associate for U.S. policy Dan Erikson wrote a chapter on Haiti, “Haiti’s Political Outlook: What the United States Should Do.” In addition, Dialogue member George Gray Molina wrote a chapter on Bolivia, “The United States and Bolivia: Test Case for Change,” and Dialogue co-founder Abe Lowenthal is an editor and wrote an overview chapter, “Renewing Cooperation in the Americas.” The full Table of Contents is available here.