Partners of Choice?
A
Western Hemisphere Security Conundrum
at
National Defense University
Institute for National
Strategic Studies
300 5th Avenue
Fort Lesley J. McNair
Washington, DC 20319
Phone: 202-685-3857 Fax: 202-685-3866
November 30 - December 1, 2006
Symposium overview
This symposium focuses on two timely questions: can Latin American, Caribbean, and North American nations, including the United States, move from good intentions for collective action to concrete partnerships that respond to security challenges that cannot be handled alone and what unifying approaches and programs are most likely to succeed?
The questions highlight the hemisphere’s complex and changing strategic landscape that is being shaped by such cross-cutting influences as economic and political relations within and outside the Americas, a communication revolution, health and environmental issues without frontiers, weak governance and persistent poverty, and the growth of integrated transnational criminal networks. In this setting, neighboring states find their interests intertwined as never before. However, countries face a conundrum: with which governments should they partner—within or outside the Americas—to deal with these new security challenges? How can these partnerships be structured when Latin American foreign policy traditions are defensive, security priorities and strategic cultures are introspective and institutional capabilities are unequal?
Below the surface of democratic unity there is tension among many Latin American and Caribbean societies. Historically, governments have been so preoccupied with internal control and sovereignty that they defensively adopted zero-sum strategies for interstate relations. These countries have deep suspicion of the United States stemming from two persistent perceptions: Washington is seen as approaching Hemispheric security with a focus on narrow North American interests and inclined to impose its views with little or no prior regional consultation. The U.S. conception of security, which is seen as focused on primarily military means to defend the country against external threats, differs from that of its neighbors. Other American states concentrate on internal concerns about political stability, public order, poverty, and territorial control. While economic and technological influences have modernized strategic thinking, the past is still a factor in many of their foreign and security policies.
While old mindsets often dominate national security considerations, the Organization of American States (OAS) has achieved consensus on a hemispheric security agenda that reflects today’s multidimensional reality. Since the Cold War, security issues have grown in number and complexity, moving from strictly border disputes, arms races and insurgencies to concerns about poverty, natural disasters and environmental mishaps, domestic youth gangs, and a broad range of transnational criminal activities from drug, arms and human trafficking to terrorism and money laundering. The OAS initiative culminated in a 2003 Special Conference on Security hosted by Mexico. Three years later there is no consensus on how collectively to address the agenda.
The United States has pledged to foster collective action. As Secretary Rice observed recently, “The United States has no desire to do things for our democratic partners; we want to do things with our democratic partners. The United States charges no ideological price for our partnership…. We will work with all governments from the left, from the right, as long as they are committed in principle and practice to the core conditions of democracy, to govern justly, to advance economic freedom and to invest in their people.” For true partnership to materialize, however, there first must be deeper reciprocal understanding.
Symposium objectives
During this symposium we will explore ideas about the pursuit of strategic partnerships in today’s security environment and seek to gain insight into how democratic countries in the Western Hemisphere can work together bilaterally or multilaterally in concrete ways. What do democratic countries look for in partners? What are the different prerequisites, expectations, obstacles to avoid and trade-offs that can influence the choice of security partners? In addition, we will identify those attitudes, policies and institutions that need to change or be accommodated in order to make working security partnerships possible in the Americas, either with the United States or with one or more regional neighbors.Featured speakers include current and former senior government officials involved in establishing and managing defense and security policy and a wide range of experts. A detailed agenda and other information is available at: http://www.ndu.edu/inss/symposia/WHS2006/agenda.htm
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