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January 2008
| Author: | Eduardo A. Gamarra |
|---|
This module features teaching notes by Florida International University professor Eduardo A. Gamarra, author of Bolivia on the Brink, along with other resources to supplement the text. In the report, Gamarra encourages the U.S. government to redirect its policy toward Bolivia to emphasize preservation of the democratic process and conflict prevention.
What is a CFR Academic Module?
Academic Modules—featuring teaching notes by the authors of CFR publications—are designed to assist educators in creating or supplementing a course syllabus. The modules are customized packages built around a primary CFR text, such as a book or report, and include teaching notes; additional readings; video, audio, and transcripts of CFR meetings; Foreign Affairs articles; and other online resources. Use of these modules is free of charge. They may be used in part or in their entirety.
February 2007
Council Special Report No. 24
This report encourages the U.S. government to redirect its policy toward Bolivia from “wait and see” to one with an emphasis on conflict prevention and preserving the democratic process in order to address the nation’s many challenges. This report is also available in Spanish.
Current political and economic issues succinctly explained.
May 12, 2006
In a region seen as turning leftward, forging alliances would seem a natural course of events. But Bolivian President Evo Morales' decision to nationalize the oil and gas industry is exposing tensions, causing experts to say there is more diffusion than alliance-building in Latin America.
November 2006
Council Special Report No. 20
With polls showing Chávez strongly in the lead in the December 3, 2006, Venezuelan presidential election, the United States needs to prepare for another six-year term with the controversial leader. This report proposes a new strategic framework for U.S. policy toward Venezuela. This report is also available in Spanish.
March 2006
America quietly sowed the seeds of its own decline in the eyes of the world in its own backyard. In Latin America, under the guise of anti-communism, we sponsored dictatorships, turned a blind eye to killing squads, and tolerated the subversion of democracy. Almost nobody knew, so it didn’t matter, right?
May 2005
Protecting Democracy examines how democratic states may be able to protect themselves and secure more effective international action against threats such as coups d’etat and the erosion of democratic freedoms and institutions.
January 2004
The United States spends approximately $700 million per year in the Andean region, but this Commission report concludes that current U.S. policy—focused narrowly on “drugs and thugs” in the Andes—cannot achieve U.S. regional goals of democracy, prosperity, and security. Andes 2020 offers bold new recommendations to recalibrate U.S. policy to better meet its objectives.
November 2002
Task Force Report No. 42
Democratic governments, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations have responded poorly and often at cross purposes when democracies are threatened by coups or erosions of the democratic process, concludes an independent Task Force led by two of the world’s leading pro-democracy advocates, former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and former Foreign Minister of Poland Bronislaw Geremek. Yet support for democracy is consistent not only with the ideals of the world’s democracies but also with their interests and security. Democratic states are “less likely to breed terrorists or to be state sponsors of terrorism,” the report concludes, and more likely to be “active participants in the global economy.”
June 1998
This conference volume is the second book in CPA's series of Preventive Action Reports. It uses CPA's case studies to examine the effectiveness of the tools of preventive action, and draws on comparative studies to guide the analysis of the case studies.
March/April 2001
Summary
Hemispheric relations seem at an all-time high, as democracy and prosperity blossom throughout Latin America. But President Bush still faces potential problems south of the border, from mission creep in Colombia to chaos in Peru, from Chávez in Venezuela to Castro in Cuba. And then there is Mexico, where the first-ever democratically elected president is eager to engage Washington -- on his own terms. Only one thing is certain: Latin America must not be ignored.
March 13, 2007
CFR's Julia E. Sweig says President Bush’s trip to five Latin American nations “went as badly as I expected it to.”
March 5, 2007
rShannon O’Neil, a CFR expert on Latin America, says President Bush heads for Latin America on March 8 hoping for a “foreign policy success,” but because of his lame duck status, it will be hard for him to achieve very much.
February 28, 2007
Adam Isacson, director of programs at the Center for International Policy in Washington, discusses the Bush administration's 2008 foreign aid proposal for Latin America.
December 7, 2006
Jorge G. Castaneda, former foreign minister of Mexico and professor of Latin American Studies at New York University, talks about the Latin American leftist wave and the future of Mexico under Felipe Calderon.
November 8, 2007
As head of Congress and the major political operator for President Evo Morales, Bolivia's Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera stands in the eye of a political hurricane. The changes proposed by the Movement toward Socialism (MAS) government have unleashed protest from conservative sectors of society, leading to suspension of the Constituent Assembly called to revamp the nation's political institutions. Laura Carlsen from Center for International Policy interviews Alvaro Garcia Linera.
February 21, 2007
Bolivian President Evo Morales governs an increasingly unruly nation but shows few signs of changing his combative political agenda.
August 10, 2006
Alma Guillermoprieto writes about the historical emergence of a grass-roots party in Bolivia. Guillermoprieto argues that the revolution in Bolivia is an anomaly because there is no other country in Latin America where a grass-roots party has taken charge of a government and "whose members are poor and overwhelmingly Indian."
Updated May 15, 2006
Evo Morales, Bolivia's populist president, has nationalized his country's energy industry. The decision will have specific economic ramifications, and possibly broader political ones in a region that lacks a coherent identity.
April 6, 2006
Has the once ballyhooed U.S. "war on drugs" been put on the policy backburner? Many experts think it has, and also that this might be a good thing.
February 26, 2006
This essay argues that there are strict limits on what outsiders can do to help poor countries—the internal development of functioning legal systems and states must take a leading role.
January 18, 2006
Speech
Center for Preventive Action Symposium: The Future of Conflict Prevention - Session I
Related Project: Center for Preventive Action Symposium on the Future of Conflict Prevention
| Speaker: | Terje Rød-Larsen, President, International Peace Academy |
|---|---|
| Introductory Speaker: | Paul B. Stares, Director, Center for Preventive Action, Council on Foreign Relations |
| Presider: | Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations |
12:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. Opening Luncheon
Transcript: Symposium on the Future of Conflict Prevention, Session I [Rush Transcript; Federal News Service]
Audio: Symposium on the Future of Conflict Prevention: Session 1: Keynote Address by Terje Roed-Larsen (Audio)
Video: Symposium on the Future of Conflict Prevention: Session 1: Keynote Address by Terje Roed-Larsen (Video)
This meeting is on the record.
Center for Preventive Action Symposium: The Future of Conflict Prevention - Session II
Related Project: Center for Preventive Action Symposium on the Future of Conflict Prevention
| Speakers: | David A. Hamburg, President Emeritus, Carnegie Corporation of New York |
|---|---|
| Bruce W. Jentleson, Director & Professor, Sanford Institute of Public Policy | |
| Fen Osler Hampson, Director, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University | |
| Bathsheba N. Crocker, Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary, Peacebuilding Support Office, United Nations | |
| Presider: | William L. Nash, Director of the Military Fellows Program, Council on Foreign Relations |
2:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. Meeting
Transcript: Symposium on the Future of Conflict Prevention, Session II [Rush Transcript; Federal News Service]
Audio: Symposium on the Future of Conflict Prevention: Session 2: What Have We Learned? Reviewing a Decade of Work (Audio)
Video: Symposium on the Future of Conflict Prevention: Session 2: What Have We Learned? Reviewing a Decade of Work (Video)
This meeting is on the record.
Center for Preventive Action Symposium: The Future of Conflict Prevention - Session III
Related Project: Center for Preventive Action Symposium on the Future of Conflict Prevention
| Speakers: | Nancy E. Soderberg, Senior Advisor, International Crisis Group |
|---|---|
| Donald K. Steinberg, Vice President for Multilateral Affairs, International Crisis Group | |
| Stewart M. Patrick, Research Fellow, Center for Global Development | |
| Paul B. Stares, Director, Center for Preventive Action, Council on Foreign Relations |
3:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Transcript: Symposium on the Future of Conflict Prevention, Session III [Rush Transcript; Federal News Service]
Audio: Symposium on the Future of Conflict Prevention: Session 3: Challenges Ahead (Audio)
Video: Symposium on the Future of Conflict Prevention: Session 3: Challenges Ahead (Video)
This meeting is on the record.
U.S. Trade Policy at a Crossroads: What the People Really Want
| Speakers: | Edward Alden, Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations |
|---|---|
| Bruce Stokes, International Economics Columnist, "National Journal"; Journalism Fellow, The German Marshall Fund | |
| Presider: | Nancy E. Roman, Vice President and Director, Washington Program, Council on Foreign Relations |
As the Doha round languishes, and free trade agreements with Peru, Columbia, Panama and South Korea wait in the wings, Congress is grappling with how to approach U.S. trade policy. We work and live in a global economy built on freer trade, yet there's a growing angst associated with globalization that has given rise to a populist trend toward protectionism. Join acclaimed trade reporter Bruce Stokes, of the National Journal, CFR’s Ted Alden, formerly of the Financial Times, and Council Vice President Nancy Roman for a discussion on U.S. trade policy in the balance.
Transcript: U.S. Trade Policy at a Crossroads: What the People Really Want
Audio: U.S. Trade Policy at a Crossroads: What the People Really Want (Audio)
This meeting is on the record.
C. Peter McColough Roundtable Series on International Economics: Securing the Promise of the Western Hemisphere
Related Project: C. Peter McColough Roundtable Series on International Economics
| Presider: | Ann F. Fudge, Former Chairwoman and Chief Executive, Young & Rubicam, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Speaker: | Carlos M. Gutierrez, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce |
The C. Peter McColough Roundtable Series on International Economics is sponsored by the Corporate Program and the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies.
7:45 - 8:00 a.m. Breakfast
8:00 - 9:00 a.m. Meeting
Transcript: Securing the Promise of the Western Hemisphere [Rush Transcript; Federal News Service]
Audio: Securing the Promise of the Western Hemisphere (Audio)
Video: Securing the Promise of the Western Hemisphere (Video)
This meeting is on the record.
President Bush's Trip to Latin America (Conference Call)
| Speaker: | Julia E. Sweig, Nelson and David Rockefeller Senior Fellow, for Latin America Studies, Director for Latin America Studies, Council on Foreign Relations |
|---|
This meeting is on the record.
Latin America Elections Update
| Speakers: | Pamela Starr, Analyst, Latin America, Eurasia Group; Author, Challenges for a Postelection Mexico; Issues for U.S. Policy, A Council on Foreign Relations Special Report |
|---|---|
| Richard E. Feinberg, Professor, International Political Economy, Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego; Codirector, Leadership Council on Inter-American Summitry | |
| David J. Rothkopf, Chairman and CEO, The Rothkopf Group, LLC; Visiting Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace | |
| Julia E. Sweig, Nelson and David Rockefeller Senior Fellow and Director, Latin America Studies, Council on Foreign Relations |
5:30 – 6:00 p.m. Reception
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Meeting
Transcript: Update on the Latin American Elections [Rush Transcript; Federal News Service]
Audio: Latin America Elections Update (Audio)
This meeting is on the record.
Latin America Update
| Speakers: | Ricardo Hausmann, Director, Ceter for International Development and Professor of the Practice of Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University |
|---|---|
| Enrique Krauze, Editor in Chief, Letras Libres | |
| Deborah J. Yashar, Associate Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University | |
| Presider: | Julia Ellen Sweig, Nelson and David Rockefeller Senior Fellow for Latin American Studies, and Director, Latin American Studies, Council on Foreign Relations |
12:15 - 1:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 - 2:00 p.m. Meeting
Transcript: Latin America Update [Rush Transcript; Federal News Service, Inc.]
Audio: Latin America Update (audio)
Video: Latin America Update (video)
Transition 2005: Latin America: CAFTA and Other Policy Challenges
| Presider: | Julia E. Sweig, Senior Fellow, Latin America Program, Council on Foreign Relations |
|---|---|
| Speakers: | Jim Kolbe, Member, U.S.House of Representative (R-AZ) |
| Sander Levin, Member, U.S. House of Representatives (D-MI) |
Transcript: Transition 2005: Latin America: CAFTA and Other Policy Challenges
Audio: Transition 2005: Latin America-CAFTA and Other Policy Challenges (audio)
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Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
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The report of this bipartisan Task Force of distinguished leaders and experts represents a strong consensus on the importance of repairing America's immigration policy. It makes the case that maintaining America's political and economic leadership depends on attracting talented and hard-working immigrants, and on securing the country's borders in a smart, effective, and humane way.
This report finds that nuclear weapons will remain a fundamental element of U.S. national security in the near term, and makes recommendations on how to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the U.S. deterrent nuclear force, prevent nuclear terrorism, and strengthen the nuclear nonproliferation regime.
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Identifying international threats and acting on them may be the most difficult job for U.S. policymakers. This report
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For more than a decade, the United States has mostly watched from the sidelines as Asian countries organize themselves into an alphabet soup of new multilateral groups. In this report, the authors review the relationship between pan-Asian and trans-Pacific institutions and suggest policy guidelines for a new U.S. approach to this new Asian landscape.
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