The Inter-American System in an Era of Declining United States Hegemony
Link: http://doi.org/10.23870/marlas.307
As published in the Middle Atlantic Review of Latin American Studies, Volume 4, Number 2 (2020), pp.194–212.
Author: Thomas Andrew O'Keefe
ABSTRACT
The inter-American system encompasses the institutional and legal framework promoted by the United States of America following the first International Conference of American States in Washington, DC, in 1890 as a means of consolidating US hegemony in the Western Hemisphere. After WW II, it became most identified with the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (aka the Rio Treaty). The first significant challenges to US dominance and leadership within the inter-American system appeared in the 1970s and 1980s, although it did not become symptomatic of a wider decline in US hegemony in Latin America until the administration of George W. Bush. In particular, many countries withdrew from the Rio Treaty, refused to participate in the inter-American human rights system, and utilized the OAS to repudiate US foreign policy on Cuba and the “War on Drugs.” Furthermore, new hemispheric organizations appeared such as the Union of South American Nations and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States that purposefully excluded the United States. During the Obama years, a frustrated US Congress threatened to cut US contributions, while administration officials retreated from taking a proactive role in the OAS. For its part, the Trump government has boycotted hearings of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission and reduced its funding. The article concludes with a discussion of the inter-American system without the domineering presence of the nation which spawned it to promote its own geopolitical priorities, precisely when an effective regional body is crucial for addressing many hemispheric challenges.
ACCESS FULL ARTICLE AT: http://doi.org/10.23870/marlas.307
Mexico and Central America: Taking Aim at Corruption in Pharmaceutical Procurement
As Posted on American University's Center for Latin American and Latino Studies Blog, December 21, 2020
Under pressure to reduce the cost of medications and medical supplies, the governments of Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras have resorted to an international facilitator to combat inefficiencies and a lack of transparency in medical procurement while attempting to build their own capacity to manage purchases and reduce related corruption in the future.
New Western Hemisphere Trade Pacts Push Back Against Big Pharma
Link: https://aulablog.net/2020/01/28/new-western-hemisphere-trade-pacts-push-back-against-big-pharma/
As Posted on American University's Center for Latin American and Latino Studies Blog, January 28, 2020
Two major trade agreements affecting the Western Hemisphere have recently struck blows against the pharmaceutical industry’s efforts to keep drug prices high by limiting competition from generic medications. Big Pharma tried, but failed, to include provisions in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the EU-MERCOSUR Association Agreement that would go beyond those expressly permitted by the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
The EU-MERCOSUR Association Agreement: The Devil is in the Details
AS PUBLISHED IN GLOBAL AMERICANS ON AUGUST 20, 2019
After two decades, the European Union and the four core MERCOSUR nations—Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay—finally concluded negotiations for a trade agreement in Brussels on June 28, 2019. Officially known as the EU-MERCOSUR Association Agreement, the accord goes beyond strictly commercial topics to also foster inter-continental dialogue and political cooperation. In addition to the European Parliament, the political-economic agreement must also be ratified by each EU member state, as well as each MERCOSUR government. But before that can even happen, the text must be reviewed to remove internal legal inconsistencies, translated into the 24 official languages of the EU, and formally signed by the parties. This alone could take several months.
The Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) as a Metaphor for the Decline of United States Hegemony in the Western Hemisphere
As Published in Volumes 26 and 27 of Latin American Essays, MACLAS (Mid-Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies), 2014, pp. 19-32
Thomas Andrew O’Keefe
Mercosur Consulting Group, Ltd. & Stanford University
Introduction
The idea for an Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas was first floated by then Senator Barack Hussein Obama in the sole policy address he gave on Latin America and the Caribbean during his initial run for the White House. The primary purpose of that May 2008 speech in Miami was to garner Cuban-American votes for his candidacy as well as that of two Cuban-American Democrats and one Colombian-American challenging incumbent Cuban-American Republican congresspersons from south Florida.[1] Not surprisingly, the speech focused heavily on U.S. relations with Cuba. Obama did, however, mention a proposal to create an Energy Partnership for the Americas. In particular, Obama stated that, if elected, his administration would allow industrial emitters of greenhouse gases in the United States to offset a portion of their emissions by investing in low carbon energy projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. He also pledged to increase research and development across the Americas in clean coal technology, in the next generation of sustainable biofuels not taken from food crops, and in wind, solar and nuclear energy.