Recent Publications

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 9, 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

The Challenge of Drug Trafficking to Democratic Governance and Human Security in West Africa
May 17, 2013 — Author: Mr David E Brown View the Executive SummaryInternational criminal networks mainly from Latin America and Africa—some with links to terrorism—are turning West Africa into a key global hub for the distribution, wholesaling, and production of illicit drugs. These groups represent an existential threat to democratic governance of already... MORE

Transnational Organized Crime, Terrorism, and Criminalized States in Latin America: An Emerging Tier-One National Security Priority
August 1, 2012 — Author: Mr Douglas Farah The emergence of new hybrid (state and nonstate) transnational criminal/terrorist franchises in Latin America operating under broad state protection now pose a tier-one security threat for the United States. Similar hybrid franchise models are developing in other parts of the world, which makes the understanding of these... MORE

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China-Latin America Military Engagement: Good Will, Good Business, and Strategic Position
August 1, 2011 — Author: Dr R Evan Ellis This monograph examines Chinese military engagement with Latin America in five areas: (1) meetings between senior military officials; (2) lower-level military-to-military interactions; (3) military sales; (4) military-relevant commercial interactions; and, (5) Chinese physical presence within Latin America, all of which have... MORE

Brazil’s Security Strategy and Defense Doctrine
March 1, 2011 — Authors: Mr Andrew Fishman, Dr Max G Manwaring Brazil is a developing nation well situated in time and place. Unlike other areas of the world, it has no bloody religious or ethnic conflicts, and its last border conflict took place in the early 19th century. However, Brazil is the most populous Latin American nation, with nearly 200 million... MORE

Dealing with Political Ferment in Latin America: The Populist Revival, the Emergence of the Center, and Implications for U.S. Policy
September 1, 2009 — Author: Dr Hal Brands The current political dynamics in Latin America is analyzed, and their meaning for the United States is evaluated. The author argues that references to a uniform “left turn” in the region are misleading, and that Latin America is actually witnessing a dynamic competition between two very different forms of governance... MORE

State and Nonstate Associated Gangs: Credible “Midwives of New Social Orders”
May 1, 2009 — Author: Dr Max G Manwaring The monograph examines contemporary populism and neopopulism, 21st century socialism, and a nonstate actor (al-Qaeda) seeking regional and global hegemony. They are: first, paramilitary gang permutations in Colombia that are contributing significantly to the erosion of the Colombian state and its democratic institutions,... MORE