CHDS, Panama’s Government and Justice Ministry cosponsor conference on security and defense in MesoAmerica

Ecuadoran scholar Pablo Celi addresses the Mesoamerica conference held in Panama City, while CHDS Professor Michael Gold-Biss (center) and Colombian Senator Jairo Clopatofsky look on. 

On July 29-31, the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies co-sponsored, together with the Panamanian Ministry of Government and Justice, a conference on "Critical security and defense challenges in MesoAmerica: Regional, governmental and private perspectives."

The event offered several critical insights into the problems being faced by Central America, Panama and Mexico. It focused on the importance of inter-agency and regional coordination in security and defense; regional cooperation for better inter-operability among the Central American countries, particularly with U.S. forces in the region, the critical need for institution building, and the balance between short-term needs (political necessities) and long-term goals (strategic vision).

"This conference has done two important things to help confront the challenges we all face in this Hemisphere," said Dr. Richard D. Downie, Center director. "Those are: to effectively pose the nature of the threats that we face and, more importantly, to point to the opportunities for strengtheing ourselves to face them."

Although not the focus of the conference, there continue to be broad concerns in the region over the relationship between the civilian authorities and the military. Unlike the 1990s, with its emphasis on reducing military budgets, today the region's armed forces are under pressure to increase their missions and resources, which has led to a debate about whether these trends strictly reflect security needs, or are part of a military effort to increase their role and presence in the political sphere.

The keynote speaker, Latin American historian Dr. Frederick M. Nunn, urged the group to consider the political context in which decisions were made, pointing out that priority attention should be given to the issue of the political control of the armed forces and the challenges that stem from it.

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American University, CHDS Hold Conference on Human Rights and Democracy Issues

Under the auspices of American University’s School of International Service (SIS) and the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies (CHDS) a conference on human rights and democracy issues was held at the AU campus on July 22. The event, a brainstorming session for a collaborative effort between SIS and CHDS, focused on gathering insights and perspectives from the attendees on the past and current issues of human rights and democracy in the Americas and the lessons learned both for the Americas and from the Americas for the rest of the world.

SIS Dean Louis Goodman and CHDS Director Richard D. Downie kicked off the all-day session, which included presentations by AU Professor of International Relations Robert Pastor; William LeoGrande, AU dean of the School of Public Affairs; human rights attorney Steven M. Schneebaum; Antonio Raimondo, chief of the human rights and international law division of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC); Anne Ehrsam-Holland, director of the U.S. Defense Institute of International Legal Studies (DIILS), and Martin Edwin Andersen, CHDS chief of strategic communications and assistant professor of national security affairs. The group also included representatives of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), and NORTHCOM.

As the deliberations evolved there was a consensus that the “lessons learned from the Americas” was relevant to a much larger audience, including the Middle East and Africa. "We look forward to continuing to work with Dr. Goodman and the very interesting group of people who have chosen to join us in this collaborative project," said Ken LaPlante, CHDS deputy director and co-coordinator of the effort with American University. "It is clear that the progress made in human rights and democracy in Latin America, and the role played during that time by the United States, are important experiences to share in other regions of the world."

CHDS Press Release

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe,
Chile's National Academy of Political and Strategic Studies (ANEPE)
win 2nd annual CHDS William J. Perry Awards

Security & Defense Studies Review Summer Vo. 8 - No. 1, 2008

New CHDS Prospectus

The Security and Defense Studies Review
is now accepting submissions

To all colleagues and friends of CHDS: The Security and Defense Studies Review, the electronic journal of CHDS, is now accepting submissions for consideration for publication in Calendar Year 2009. The SDSR webpage provides the current issue of the ejournal, an archive of all prefvious issues for reference, and the requirements for submissions. We eagerly await your manuscripts! For further information, visit the SDSR webpage. Many thanks to our previous contributors; don't forget us when you want to publish again.