The United States contemporary foreign policy agenda towards Latin-american middle powers: alignments and coalitions regarding the contemporary hemisphere agenda

• Grant number: 07/07581-8
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: May 01, 2008
• End date: October 31, 2010
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - International Politics
• Principal Investigator: Rafael Antonio Duarte Villa
• Grantee: Rafael Antonio Duarte Villa
• Host Institution: Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa (PRO-PESQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

From a perspective that joins comparative foreign policy analysis and international relations theory, this research aims to understand how the sistemic factor - defined as the new US hemisphere agenda in the post-Cold War era, consisting of three extensive issues (democracy, trade and security) - and the domestic factors (leadership, foreign policy agencies, relevant social groups and the legislative) in the US and middle powers in Latin America (Brasil, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Venezuela, and Colombia) interact influencing changes in US foreign policy towards the region regarding: 1) the perception of decision units in US foreing policy; 2) strategies to international re-insertion of the development model in latin-america; and 3) the impact of the sistemic and the domestic factors in chages of coalitions and diplomatic realignments perceived as strategic by US decision units.This research does not presume, from an analytical point of view, in first place, the deliberate exclusion of the international (sistemic) or the domestic level. The purpose is to explore the conjugated impact of these two factors in the decion making process of US foreign policy in latin american middle powers. In second place, this project focus its concerns on the operated changes in US foreign policy towards latin american middle powers, not on the continuing factors of the political relationship laid down for the region. (AU)