Recent Publications

Corruption in the Americas
July 21, 2023 — Regional Studies Book Review: Corruption in the Americas Ryan Orsini Editors: Jonathan D. Rosen and Hanna S. Kassab | Reviewed by Dr. José de Arimatéia da Cruz, professor of international relations and comparative politics, Georgia Southern University, and visiting professor, Center for Strategic Leadership, US Army War College | Jonathan D... MORE

Challenges and Threats to Security in Latin America (ceeep.mil.pe)
March 6, 2023 — Latin America faces a complex economic, social and political context with strong implications for the radicalization of society, the erosion of institutions, and the reduction of economic prospects, undermining its commitment to democracy and the rule of law. Although this phenomenon is not exclusive to Latin America, it seems that this region is experiencing the beginning of a chain of events that could negatively impact the countries that integrate it... MORE

Strategic Insights: The Strategic Relevance of Latin America in the U.S. National Security Strategy
March 14, 2018 — Dr. José de Arimatéia da Cruz The much-anticipated National Security Strategy of the United States of America was released in December 2017 by President Donald J. Trump. The National Security Strategy is composed of four pillars and is applied in a regional context. How does the National Security Strategy view the Western Hemisphere? What are the... MORE

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Strategic Insights: Thinking Strategically About Latin America and the Caribbean
December 9, 2016 — Dr. R. Evan Ellis In the 2016 U.S. presidential debates, as on other occasions, the theme of Latin America and the Caribbean was remarkably absent. Important events in the region occasionally insert themselves into the U.S. consciousness through the mainstream media, including: the arrival of thousands of Central American child refugees at the U.S... MORE

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Russian Engagement in Latin America and the Caribbean: Return to the “Strategic Game” in a Complex-Interdependent Post-Cold War World?
April 24, 2015 — Dr. R. Evan Ellis The views expressed here are his own. Dr. Ellis thanks his research assistants, Allen Church and Isaac Schlotterbeck, for their help with this article.In February 2015, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu traveled to Latin America to meet with leaders and defense officials in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Although the visit... MORE

Strategic Insights: From Ideology to Geopolitics: Russian Interests in Latin America
March 24, 2015 — Dr. José de Arimatéia da CruzThe 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... MORE

Strategic Insights: The China-CELAC Summit: Opening a New Phase in China-Latin America-U.S. Relations?
January 27, 2015 — Dr. R. Evan EllisNote: This article was first published in The ManzellaReport.com available from www.manzellareport.com/index.php/world/945-the-china-celac-summit-opening-a-new-phase-in-china-latin-america-u-s-relations.Since the People’s Republic of China (PRC) began to open its economy in 1978, its relationship with Latin America and the... MORE

Strategic Insights: Brazil’s Election 2014: Continuity or Change for the “Sleeping Giant”?
January 13, 2015 — Dr. José de Arimatéia da CruzOn 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... MORE

Strategic Insights: The Strategic Relevance of Latin America for the United States
December 8, 2014 — Dr. R. Evan Ellis 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... MORE

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Strategic Insights: The Dragon in the Tropics: China’s Military Expansion into the Western Hemisphere
September 30, 2014 — Dr. José de Arimatéia da Cruz A prosperous and stable China will not be a threat to any country. It will only be a positive force for world peace. Vice President Xi Jinping, 2012 Despite the fact that Latin America has been an area of U.S. influence since 1823... MORE

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Political and Socio-Economic Change: Revolutions and Their Implications for the U.S. Military
September 1, 2014 — Author: Dr John R Deni View the Executive SummaryDramatic political, economic, and social changes across both the Greater Middle East and Latin America over the last several years—in some instances revolutionary, in others evolutionary—have had profound implications for global security generally and U.S. security specifically. Policymakers in... MORE

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New Realities: Energy Security in the 2010s and Implications for the U.S. Military
December 30, 2013 — Dr. Robert J. Bunker, LTC John D. Colwell, JrRevolutionary changes among energy producers and dramatically altered patterns of energy consumption across the planet are having profound implications for American national security in general and the U.S. Army specifically. For example, the reduced saliency of Africa and the Middle East as energy... MORE