Legado a las Americas has honored me with an invitation to publish a monthly column in its forum Opidata. I recognize the breadth of knowledge, experience and public service represented by the group, and look forward to interacting with you through these writings.
During the three decades of my professional career, I have had the opportunity to work in academia, the private sector, and various U.S. government organizations. I make an effort to incorporate those multiple perspectives in my analysis, just as I seek to represent a respectful U.S. perspective to my Latin American colleagues, while also seeking to view global developments from the region’s perspective.
My writing and other work over the years has focused the region’s engagement with extra-hemispheric actors, particularly the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Russia, and Iran, as well as transnational organized crime and the political currents that have shaped the strategic dynamics of the region. Latin America and the Caribbean currently confront an unprecedented array of challenges, disillusionment with the performance of their governments, and important choices regarding political organization, policies on technology and other issues, and relationships with an array of global actors. In this, my introductory column, I would like to begin my conversation with you about these issues with you on a philosophical note, with a focus on one of the most important, yet neglected elements in the contemporary debate over solution and policies: the need to re-focus attention on the individual, their agency, empowerment and protection, rather than the State, as the solution to society’s ills.