Empire, Leadership or Hegemony: US Strategies towards the Northern Triangle Countries in the 21st Century

Ieva Giedraityte

Abstract


The goal of this article is to conceptualize the US strategies towards the Northern Triangle countries during 2005–2015. Using Destradi’s framework of regional power strategies, this paper analyses strategic documents and secondary sources regarding how US defined goals of its regional cooperation and means for their achievement. It concludes claiming that the US strategy towards the region can be called hegemonic as it was openly subordinated to its needs. Nevertheless, there has been a shift from hard to intermediate hegemony as the US became more perceptive to the needs of its regional partners.


Keywords


Northern Triangle, regional powers, regional strategies, empire, hegemony

Full Text:

PDF

References


Akram S. M. (2018), What’s Driving the Migration Crisis at Our Southern Border?, “Boston’s NPR News Station”, https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2018/08/08/why-do-migrants-flee-central-america-susan-akram, access: 11.07.2018.

Biden J. (2015), Plan for Central America, “The New York Times”, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/30/opinion/joe-biden-a-plan-for-central-america.html, access: 11.07.2018.

Burges S. W. (2008), Consensual Hegemony: Theorizing Brazilian Foreign Policy After the Cold War, “International Relations”, 22 (1), pp. 65–84.

Burges S. W. (2015), Revisiting Brazil’s Consensual Hegemony in South America: Brazilian Regional Leadership in Question, “International Politics”, 52 (2), pp. 193–207.

Chomsky N. (2018), Migrants Are Fleeing Horrors Created by the U.S. in Latin America, “Haaretz”, https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/noam-chomsky-migrants-are-fleeing-horrors-created-by-the-u-s-1.6695006, access: 11.11.2018.

Colby J. (2011), The Business of Empire: United Fruit, Race, and U.S. Expansion in Central America, Cornell University Press, Ithaca.

Congressional Record Proceedings and Debates of the 110th Congress, First Session (2007) https://www.congress.gov/crec/2007/10/02/CREC-2007-10-02.pdf, access: 10.02.2018

Consolidated Appropriations Act (2016), Public Law 114–113, https://www.congress.gov/114/plaws/publ113/PLAW-114publ113.pdf, access: 11.02.2018

Cook C.W., Rush R. G., Seelke C. R. (2008), Mérida Initiative: Background and Funding, “Congressional Research Service Report”, https://www.wola.org/sites/default/files/downloadable/Mexico/past/CRS%20report.pdf, access: 11.02.2018.

Cox M. (2004), Empire by Denial? Debating US Power, “Security Dialogue”, vol. 35, no 2, pp. 228–236.

Destradi S. (2010), Regional Powers and Their Strategies: Empire, Hegemony and Leadership, “Review of International Studies”, (36) 4 , pp. 903–930.

Flemes D. (2010), Regional Leadership in the Global System, Ashgate Publishing.

González A. (2006), El proceso de negociación de un tratado de libre comercio con Estados Unidos: La experiencia del tratado de libre comercio entre Centroamérica, Estados Unidos y República Dominicana, Documento de divulgación INTAL-ITD, https://publications.iadb.org/en/publication/13472/el-proceso-de-negociacion-de-un-tratado-de-libre-comercio-con-estados-unidos-la, access: 01.03.2018.

Grandin G. (2004), The Last Colonial Massacre. Latin America in the Cold War, The University of Chicago Press.

Grandin G. (2006), Empires Workshop: Latin America, the United States, and the Rise of the New Imperialism, Metropolitan Books, New York.

Joseph G. M., Grandin G. (2010), A Century of Revolution: Insurgent and Counterinsurgent Violence during Latin America’s Long Cold War, Duke University Press.

LeoGrande W. (1998), Our Own Backyard: The United States in Central America, 1977-1992, University of North Carolina Press.

Lima L. (2018), Caravana de migrantes: ¿qué rol ha tenido Estados Unidos en la violencia, la pobreza y la falta de oportunidades que padecen Honduras, Guatemala y El Salvador?, “BBC”, https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-45973286, access: 01.02.2018.

Livingstone G. (2009), America’s Backyard: The United States and Latin America from the Monroe Doctrine to the War on Terror, Latin American Bureau, Zed Books.

Long T. (2013), Convincing the Colossus: Latin American Leaders Face the United States, doctoral dissertation, American University.

Lowenthal A. F., Piccone T. J., Whitehead L. (2011), Shifting the Balance: The Obama Administration and the Americas, Brookings Press.

Mallab S. (2002), The Reluctant Imperialist: Terrorism, Failed States, and the Case for American Empire, “Foreign Affairs”, vol. 81, no 2, pp. 2–7.

Meyer P.J. (2018), U.S. Foreign Assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean: FY2018 Appropriations, “Congressional Research Service Report”, https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R45089.pdf, access: 01.03.2018.

Meyer P.J., Ribando Seelke C. (2013), Central America Regional Security Initiative: Background and Policy Issues for Congress, “Congressional Research Service Report”, https://securityassistance.org/sites/default/files/R4173, access: 01.06.2018.

Meyer, P. J. (2018), U.S. Foreign Assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean: FY2018 Appropriations, “Congressional Research Service Report”, https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R45089.pdf, access: 01.05.2018.

Mitchener K. J., Weidenmier M. (2004), Empire, Public Goods, and the Roosevelt Corollary, “NBER Working Paper”, http://www.nber.org/papers/w10729, access: 01.05.2018.

Mitchell D. (2016), Regional Power? Yes, but What Kind?, paper presented at International Studies Association Asia-Pacific, Hong Kong, June 25–27 2016, http://web.isanet.org/Web/Conferences/AP%20Hong%20Kong%202016/Archive/a6e97a55-34b4-4b63-9f95-2b7c47f2a231.pdf, access: 01.05.2018.

Nolte D. (2010), How to Compare Regional Powers: Analytical Concepts and Research Topics, “Review of International Studies”, no 36, pp. 881–901.

Nolte D. (2006), Regional Powers in International Relations: Analytical Concepts and Research Approaches, GIGA Working Paper no 30, available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=940338 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.940338, access: 17.07.2018.

Office of the United States Trade Representative (2004), Statement of Why the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Is in the Interests of U.S. Commerce, https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/Countries%20Regions/africa/agreements/cafta/Statement%20of%20Why%20the%20U.S.-CAFTA-DR%20FTA%20is%20in%20the%20Interests%20of%20U.S.%20Commerce.pdf, access: 01.05.2018.

Olson E. L. (ed.) (2015), Crime and Violence in Central America’s NT. How U.S. Policy Responses are Helping, Hurting, and Can Be Improved, “Woodrow Wilson Center Reports on the Americas”, https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/20160829_RL34112_519fde01d8c18be18782d65f61c168949bea7d81.pdf, access: 01.07.2018.

Pastor R. A. (1986), Explaining U.S. Policy Toward the Caribbean Basin: Fixed and Emerging Images, “World Politics”, vol. 38, no 3, April, pp. 483–515.

Pastor R. A., Long T. (2010), Cold War and Its Aftermath in the Americas: The Search for a Synthetic Interpretation of U.S. Policy, “Latin American Research Review”, vol. 45, no 3, pp. 261–273.

Pedersen T. (2002), Cooperative Hegemony: Power, Ideas and Institutions in Regional Integration, “Review of International Studies”, vol. 28, no 4, October, pp. 677–696.

Pérez Molina O. (2014), In Latin America, We Know Who Is to Blame for Our Child Migrant Crisis, “The Guardian”, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/03/child-migrants-to-us-guatamalan-president-on-human-rights-action-on-traffickers, access: 01.07.2018.

Pineda A. H., Matamoros A. L. P. (2016), Planteamiento de CIPRODEH: Plan de la Alianza para la Prosperidad del Triángulo Norte, CIPRODEH.

Planas R., Grim R. (2014), Here’s How The U.S. Sparked a Refugee Crisis on the Border, In 8 Simple Steps, “The Huffington Post”, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/18/refugee-crisis-border_n_5596125.html, access: 01.07.2018.

Prys M. (2010), Hegemony, Domination Detachment: Differences in Regional Powerhood, “International Studies Review”, 12(4), pp. 479–504.

Reyna S. (2006), Deadly Contradictions: The New American Empire and Global Warring, Berghahn Books.

Ribando Seelke C. R. (2006), Article 98 Agreements and Sanctions on U.S. Foreign Aid to Latin America, Congressional Research Service Report, https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs8995/m1/1/high_res_d/RL33337_2006Apr10.pdf, access: 01.09.2018.

Ribando Seelke C. R. (2013), Gangs in Central America, Congressional Research Service Report, https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=730334, access: 01.09.2018.

Ribando Seelke C. R. (2016), Gangs in Central America, Congressional Research Service Report, https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34112.pdf, access: 15.09.2018.

Ricard S. (2006), The Roosevelt Corollary, “Presidential Studies Quaterly”, vol. 36, Issue 1, pp. 17–26.

Shor F. (2009), Dying Empire: U.S. Imperialism and Global Resistance, Routledge, London.

The National Security Strategy of United States of America (2015), https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2015_national_security_strategy_2.pdf , access: 01.09.2018.

The National Security Strategy of United States of America (2006), https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/64884.pdf, access: 01.09.2018.

Travis P. (2017), Reagan’s War on Terrorism in Nicaragua – The Outlaw State, Lexington Books, Lanham.

Tseng-Putterman M. (2018), A Century of U.S. Intervention Created the Immigration Crisis, “Medium”, https://medium.com/s/story/timeline-us-intervention-central-america-a9bea9ebc148, access: 01.11.2018.

USAID Foreign Aid Explorer, https://explorer.usaid.gov/, access: 15.09.2018.

US Customs and Border Protection, https://www.cbp.gov/ access: 15.09.2018.

US Strategy for Engagement in Central America (2014), https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/docs/central_america_strategy.pdf, access: 15.07.2018.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/al.2019.7.175-192
Date of publication: 2019-12-27 22:11:29
Date of submission: 2019-12-27 18:35:07


Statistics


Total abstract view - 1706
Downloads (from 2020-06-17) - PDF - 709

Indicators



Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2019

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.