Western Hemisphere

Strategic Insights: From Ideology to Geopolitics: Russian Interests in Latin America José de Arimatéia da Cruz Article by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The implosion of the Soviet Union on the eve of December 25, 1991, has been heralded by pundits and Sovietologists as an unprecedented event in world history. No one expected the powerful Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to come to an end as uneventfully as it did. The implosion of the Soviet Union sent shockwaves throughout the world. Not only did the Soviet Union cease to exist on that Christmas night, but it also lost half of its territory and half of its population. Furthermore, the Soviets came to find out the morning after that most of its weapons of mass destruction were now in the hands of the newly independent states—former members of the USSR..."

SOLLIMS Sampler – Security Sector Reform Mister David A Mosinski PKSOI SOLLIMS Sampler by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute "While U.S./coalition or international actors may be actively engaged in security activities in the initial phases of peace/stability operations, it is also essential to address Security Sector Reform (SSR) requirements – to improve host nation (HN) security capacity and to ensure that HN policies, plans, programs, and activities are put into place to more effectively provide safety, security, and justice for the HN population. However, based upon conditions within the HN, challenges to SSR may be significant..."

Strategic Insights: The China-CELAC Summit: Opening a New Phase in China-Latin America-U.S. Relations? R. Evan Ellis Article by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Since the People’s Republic of China (PRC) began to open its economy in 1978, its relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean has passed through four phases. Prior to its 2001 entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), it conducted limited engagements through principally diplomatic and cultural vehicles aimed at building relationships and winning diplomatic recognition among countries of the region."

Strategic Insights: Brazil's Election 2014:Continuity or Change for the "Sleeping Giant"? José de Arimatéia da Cruz Article by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "On October 26, 2014, Brazilians went to the polls to elect a new president in one of the closest and most highly contested election in Brazil’s contemporary history since the military returned to their barracks in the early-1990s. The final results showed President Dilma Rousseff winning re-election with 51.6 percent in a runoff against her opponent, Aécio Neves, who received 48.4 percent. The choice for president could not have been more distinct between two diametrically opposite candidates; Rousseff, running for re-election as the candidate of the Partido dos Trabalhadores (Worker’s Party or PT), and her opponent, former Governor and current Minas Gerais Senator, Neves, the candidate of the opposition Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira (Brazilian Social Democracy Party or PSDB)."

Strategic Insights: The Strategic Relevance of Latin America for the United States R. Evan Ellis Article by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "From October 12-14, 2014, the city of Arequipa, Peru, was host to this year’s largest unnoticed meeting of senior government officials from across the Western Hemisphere: the 11th annual Defense Ministerial Summit of the Americas. The meeting brought together Ministers of Defense and their equivalents from 34 nations from the Western Hemisphere to discuss and coordinate positions on defense and security topics important to the region. Yet in the U.S. media, almost the only mention of the gathering was a reference that the U.S. Secretary of Defense would ask the assembled leaders for “specific contributions” to the struggle against the terrorist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Middle East. In the game of geopolitics, Latin America has long been, and continues to be, the 'minor leagues.' "

Strategic Insights: The Dragon in the Tropics: China's Military Expansion into the Western Hemisphere José de Arimatéia da Cruz Article by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Despite the fact that Latin America has been an area of U.S. influence since 1823 with the establishment of the Monroe Doctrine, the region has been always relegated to an afterthought by U.S. foreign policymakers. Latin America, as J. D. Gordon stated, “has largely remained a policy backwater for the United States, with America manifesting little by way of strategy toward the region, when it in fact noticed it at all.” This benign neglect posture by U.S. foreign policymakers has tremendous geopolitical and national security implications for the homeland in the 21st century."

The Evolution of Los Zetas in Mexico and Central America: Sadism as an Instrument of Cartel Warfare Dr George W Grayson Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Los Zetas, which appeared on the scene in the late 1990s, have raised the bar for cruelty among Mexican Mafiosi. Traditionally, the country’s narcotics cartels maximized earnings by working hand-in-glove with police, military officers, intelligence agencies, union leaders, and office holders affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which dominated the political landscape from 1929 to 2000. An informal set of rules benefited both the drug capos and their allies in government posts. On the one hand, officials raked in generous payments from the malefactors for turning a blind eye to—or employing the Federal Judicial Police and other agencies to facilitate—the growing, storage, processing, and export of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines. "

New Realities: Energy Security in the 2010s and Implications for the U.S. Military - Executive Summaries Dr John R Deni Document by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "This compendium of executive summaries is based on presentations delivered at a conference by the same name that was organized by SSI, hosted by the Reserve Officers Association in Washington, DC, and funded through the generous support of the U.S. Army War College Foundation. The conference – free and open to the public – was held on 19-20 November 2013, and featured experts from the policymaking community, academia, think tanks, the private sector, and the military services. These individuals gathered together to address the rapidly changing global energy supply situation, the social, political, and economic challenges facing consumer states, and the subsequent implications for the United States generally and for the U.S. military specifically. "

A Transatlantic Bargain for the 21st Century: The United States, Europe, and the Transatlantic Alliance Dr Ellen Hallams Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Dr. Ellen Hallams’s monograph explores the nature of the bargain that has framed relations between the United States and its NATO allies, and considers what the terms of a revised bargain might be. Debate over a revised bargain raises many important questions: What are the sources of Washington’s frustration with the Alliance? What are the implications of Washington’s increasing focus on the Asia-Pacific for Europe and NATO? What is the nature of Alliance burden sharing in the context of modern military operations? In what ways can America’s European allies and partners generate greater burden sharing? Dr. Hallams proposes that a truly strategic partnership between the United States, NATO, and the European Union should be at the heart of a revised bargain, one that casts aside Cold War constructs and approaches transatlantic relations with a new maturity and pragmatism."