Politics in Latin America:

Catalog description

The course seeks to analyze the dynamics and issues that have characterized relations between the United States and Latin American since the end of World War II. A complete picture of the current state of affairs in the hemisphere and the conditions and causes that led to it requires an analysis in three different – but related – dimensions. First, the course analyzes historical benchmarks that contextualize particular overt American interventions in the region, dissecting their causes, operation and consequences. Second, the course looks at topics that have permeated the relationship between the United States and Latin America over this period. Because of their typically cross-national nature, they illustrate a different set of dynamics and concerns that have fueled tensions in the relationship. The third and final dimension concerns recent developments in Latin America that affect and have been affected by U.S. foreign policy. Their novelty suggests that these issues will remain relevant at least in the immediate future.