Foreign Affairs Article in Spanish
For those of you who may prefer to read in Spanish, my Foreign Affairs article on Mexico has been translated and appears in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs Latinoamerica, which you can find here.
On Cuba and the OAS
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in Honduras yesterday, attending a meeting of the Organization of American States in which whether Cuba should be allowed to re-gain membership to the international organization was discussed. Last night I spoke on WorldFocus on what it would take for Cuba to be re-admitted into the organization, overtures from Cuba to the U.S. and Iran’s interest in Latin American countries.
A conversation about President Obama’s trip to Mexico & Trinidad
I spoke on Charlie Rose last Friday about President Obama’s visits to Mexico and to the Summit of the Americas. You can see the whole program here:
Latin American Integration efforts: will they succeed this time?
With the formation of ALBA, Unasur, IIRSA, and many others, Latin American nations are pushing towards a new era of economic, political, and social integration. But how innovative are these efforts really? Will they differ from the failed attempts of the past? I recently wrote the following article for World Politics Review on the promise and perils of the region’s integration.
The Promise and Perils of South American Integration
Shannon O’Neil
January 12, 2009
World Politics Review
In the 21st century so far, regional integration has been one of the most notable elements of South American foreign relations. Picking up speed in recent years, the continent’s heads of state have enthusiastically met in numerous summits, promising increased political, economic, social, and development cooperation. Across the spectrum, governments are expanding current integration frameworks and entering into new agreements. Expectations are no less grand. As Brazil’s President Luis Inacio “Lula” da Silva recently stated, “South America, united, will move the board game of power in the world, not for its own benefit, but for everyone’s.” Read the entire article here.