In the Shadow of the United States

Abstract

How is the process of democratization different in those countries influenced by the United States? Being so close to this world power, the Latin Caribbean should have been one of the first regions, and not one of the last, to become democratic. An intersection between Comparative Politics and International Relations, the book portrays democratization not as a purely domestic process but as a regional one. It also shows the limits of US influence; US power distorted regime trajectories, without being sufficient to determine their outcomes. This book is central to understanding the impact of US efforts to promote democracy and the international dimension of regime transitions. It is also useful to grasp the configuration of the Latin Caribbean as a distinct sub-region.

About the Author

Giancarlo Soler Torrijos is the Deputy Ambassador of Panama to the United Nations, New York. He holds his Bachelor's Degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his Ph.D. from Oxford University, England. Before his appointment as a diplomat, he taught at the Monterrey Institute of Technology in Mexico. His writings have received several awards and prizes, among them from the Buenos Aires daily La Nacion and from the State of Quintana Roo in Mexico. His most recent publication is A la Sombra de Estados Unidos, in which some of the ideas laid out in this book were first developed in essay form. Previously, he published a book on the U.S. intervention of Panama.