US Foreign Policy to South America since 9/11: Neglect or Militarisation?

Abstract

Academic literature on US Foreign Policy to South America usually states its lack of attention to the region in the post 9/11 period. I aim to problematize this assertion through an analysis of US regional security policy. Therefore, I consider data referring to military and economic assistance, arms transfers, and the SOUTHCOM position towards its area of responsibility, as well as official documents and diplomatic cables. I conclude that, although the region was not a priority, a waning in US actions or a moment of neglect in its policy towards it was likewise not observed. From a historical perspective, the area was never the main focus of attention, but there is a specialized bureaucracy that works on the region to maintain US hegemony. Therefore, the investigation indicates that Latin American assertiveness during the 2000s was caused primarily by the conjunction of the ascension of leftist governments and quest for autonomy, as well as by Chinese and Russian involvement in Latin America, but not by US neglect. The article is divided into six sections, including the introduction and final remarks. Following the introduction, I analyse the academic literature regarding USA-Latin American relations in the second section, the US assistance in the third, the SOUTHCOM postures in the fourth, and the strategies deployed by the USA regarding great powers and arms transfers in the fifth. Finally, I present the final remarks.

Hegemony, consensus building, and pedagogical colonisation: new ways of external interference?

“…We point here that the region not only remained a US priority, but the interventionist practices carried out by US leaders did not cease with the advent of the 21st century. In this sense, it is worth bringing here the empirical study by Livia Milani (2021) that corroborates this argument. Based on two categories of analysis (economic assistance and the role of the Southern Command), the author shows how US foreign policy continued to operate in Latin America even after 9/11.…”

U.S. Hegemony in Latin America during an Age of Challenges: The Perception of Threats by the U.S Southern Command

“…Starting from 2005, U.S. congressional hearings were held to discuss the issue of China’s presence in Latin America and China began to be mentioned by Southcom commanders as a challenge (Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps and Narcotics Affairs, 2005; Milani, 2021). These dynamics became a topic of discussion for an expanding literature on the presence of extraregional powers in the Western Hemisphere (Ellis, 2015; Gardini, 2021; Myers and Wise, 2017; Sabatini, 2013).…”

“…She is the author of U.S. Foreign Policy to South America since 9/11: Neglect or Militarisation? (2021). This paper was possible thanks to a scholarship from the CAPES in the scope of the Program CAPES-Print, process number 88887.310463/2018-00, scholarship number 88887.583366/2020-00.…”

“…[a] critical space in the global competition-and global challengesposed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Russia." tHreat PercePtion by soUtHcom commanders(2017)(2018)(2019)(2020)(2021) …”