This volume examines the foreign policy transition from George W. Bush to Barack H. Obama in relation to the countries of the Americas. In this work, contributors consider the major defining features of their respective policies in dealing with security-related issues. Specifically, they examine whether major differences or continuities truly exist between the foreign policies of Bush and Obama, especially given the perception of American decline. The volume highlights Obama's foreign policy in the Americas, focusing on issue areas that threaten international security, such as drug trafficking, organized crime, and terrorism. This work provides both theoretical and policy insights for academics and policy analysts interested in foreign affairs.

The domestic phase of Washington's war on drugs has received considerable criticism over the years from a variety of individuals. Until recently, however, most critics have not stressed the damage that the international phase of the drug war has done to our Latin American neighbors. That lack of attention has begun to change and Ted Carpenter chronicles our disenchantment with the hemispheric drug war. Some prominent Latin American political leaders have finally dared to criticize Washington while at the same time, the U.S. government seems determined to perpetuate, if not intensify, the antidrug crusade. Spending on federal antidrug measures also continues to increase, and the tactics employed by drug war bureaucracy, both here and abroad, bring the inflammatory "drug war" metaphor closer to reality. Ending the prohibitionist system would produce numerous benefits for both Latin American societies and the United States. In a book deriving from his work at the CATO Institute, Ted Carpenter paints a picture of this ongoing fiasco.

This volume examines drug policies and the role of cooperation in the Americas. Many current and former politicians have discussed the failures of the war on drugs and the need for alternative approaches. Uruguay as well as Colorado and Washington have legalized marijuana. The Organization of American states produced a report in 2013 which discussed alternative policy options to the drug war. This work examines the nature of cooperation and drug policies in the twenty-first century in the Americas, highlighting the major challenges and obstacles. The argument is that one country cannot solve drug trafficking as it is a transnational problem. Therefore, the producing, consuming, and transit countries must work together and cooperate.

The Americas face many security challenges, including drug trafficking, organized crime, guerrilla movements, terrorism, and environmental challenges. Experts have long debated whether some countries in the region can be classified as failed states. While various states in the Americas have been labeled as failed states, calling a country a failed state is quite controversial and requires a precise definition of what constitutes a failed state. This book instead discusses fragile states in the Americas. Fragile states are weak states that are fertile grounds for organized crime groups and illegal actors as such groups are able to infiltrate the state apparatus through corruption. The goal of this book is to examine fragile states in the region and the major security challenges that these states face. The cause of state fragility is different for various states. Theoretically, the work will conceptualize the meaning of fragility as it relates to state survival and autonomy. Empirically, the book focuses on contemporary threats to the survival of fragile states in the Americas. The book explains and analyzes the main political, security, and economic challenges of these states. It employs a wide array of cases that delve into the security and economic threats and priorities of states in the Americas.

NATO's military intervention in Yugoslavia highlights the choices and problems confronting the alliance as it approaches the new century. An alliance created to keep Western Europe out of the Soviet orbit during the Cold War has sought to reinvent itself as a "crisis-management" organization to suppress conflicts on Europe's periphery - and perhaps beyond.
Is NATO suited to playing such a role, or is the alliance a Cold War anachronism? How will Russia react to an enlarged NATO focused on out-of-area peacekeeping and conflict-prevention missions? Are there alternative security institutions that might better address Europe's security needs in the post-Cold War era?

NATO's military intervention in Yugoslavia highlights the choices and problems confronting the alliance as it approaches the new century. An alliance created to keep Western Europe out of the Soviet orbit during the Cold War has sought to reinvent itself as a crisis-management organization to suppress conflicts on Europe's periphery - and perhaps beyond.
Is NATO suited to playing such a role, or is the alliance a Cold War anachronism? How will Russia react to an enlarged NATO focused on out-of-area peacekeeping and conflict-prevention missions? Are there alternative security institutions that might better address Europe's security needs in the post-Cold War era?

The end of the Cold War has raised questions about the future of NATO. Now that the threat from the Warsaw Pact has disappeared, there seems little need for a Western military alliance of such magnitude. The contributions here offer various views on NATO's future.

The end of the Cold War has raised questions about the future of NATO. Now that the threat from the Warsaw Pact has disappeared, there seems little need for a Western military alliance of such magnitude. The contributions here offer various views on NATO's future.

This volume examines drug policies and the role of cooperation in the Americas. Many current and former politicians have discussed the failures of the war on drugs and the need for alternative approaches. Uruguay as well as Colorado and Washington have legalized marijuana. The Organization of American states produced a report in 2013 which discussed alternative policy options to the drug war. This work examines the nature of cooperation and drug policies in the twenty-first century in the Americas, highlighting the major challenges and obstacles. The argument is that one country cannot solve drug trafficking as it is a transnational problem. Therefore, the producing, consuming, and transit countries must work together and cooperate.

Liberal democracies such as the United States face an acute dilemma in the conduct of foreign relations. Many states around the world are repressive or corrupt to varying degrees. Unfortunately, American national interests require cooperation with such regimes from time to time. To defeat Nazi Germany during World War II, the United States even allied with the Soviet Union, despite the barbarity of Josef Stalin's regime. But such partnerships have the inherent danger of compromising, or even making a mockery of, America's values of democratic governance, civil liberties, and free markets. Close working relationships with autocratic regimes, therefore, should not be undertaken lightly. U.S. officials have had a less than stellar record of grappling with that ethical dilemma. Especially during the Cold War, policymakers were casual about sacrificing important values for less-than-compelling strategic rationales. Since the 9-11 attacks, similar ethical compromises have taken place, although policymakers now seem more selective than their Cold War-era counterparts. In Perilous Partners, authors Ted Galen Carpenter and Malou Innocent provide a strategy for resolving the ethical dilemmas between interests and values faced by Washington. They propose maintaining an "arm's length relationship" with authoritarian regimes, emphasizing that the United States must not operate internationally in ways that routinely pollute American values. This book creates a strategy for conducting an effective U.S. foreign policy without betraying fundamental American values.

This volume examines the foreign policy transition from George W. Bush to Barack H. Obama in relation to the countries of the Americas. In this work, contributors consider the major defining features of their respective policies in dealing with security-related issues. Specifically, they examine whether major differences or continuities truly exist between the foreign policies of Bush and Obama, especially given the perception of American decline. The volume highlights Obama's foreign policy in the Americas, focusing on issue areas that threaten international security, such as drug trafficking, organized crime, and terrorism. This work provides both theoretical and policy insights for academics and policy analysts interested in foreign affairs.

Freedom of press is a cornerstone of our democratic political system. But reporters, pundits, and editors face intense pressure to serve as propagandists rather than journalists in their coverage of U.S. foreign policy. Too many members of the news media seem unable to make that distinction and play their proper role as watchdogs for the American people regarding possible government incompetence or misconduct. Since World War II, America has become a garrison state always prepared for armed conflict and the conflating of journalism and propaganda has grown worse--even in situations that do not involve actual combat for the United States. That behavior increasingly constrains and distorts the public's consideration of Washington's role in the world.In Unreliable Watchdog, Ted Galen Carpenter focuses on the nature and extent of the American news media's willingness to accept official accounts and policy justifications, too often throwing skepticism aside. He takes readers through an examination of the media's performance with respect to the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, the conflicts in the Balkans, the prelude to the Iraq War, the civil wars in Libya and Syria, and Washington's post-Cold War relations with both Russia and China. The analysis explores why most journalists--as well as social media platforms--seem willing to collaborate with government officials in pushing an activist foreign policy, even when tactics or results have been questionable, disappointing, or even disastrous.Unreliable Watchdog jump-starts a badly needed conversation about how the press must improve its coverage of foreign policy and national security issues if it is to serve its proper role for the American people.