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The inter-American system encompasses the institutional and legal framework promoted by the United States of America following the first International Conference of American States in Washington, DC, in 1890 as a means of consolidating US hegemony in the Western Hemisphere. After WW II, it became most identified with the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (aka the Rio Treaty). The first significant challenges to US dominance and leadership within the inter-American system appeared in the 1970s and 1980s, although it did not become symptomatic of a wider decline in US hegemony in Latin America until the administration of George W. Bush. In particular, many countries withdrew from the Rio Treaty, refused to participate in the inter-American human rights system, and utilized the OAS to repudiate US foreign policy on Cuba and the “War on Drugs.” Furthermore, new hemispheric organizations appeared such as the Union of South American Nations and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States that purposefully excluded the United States. During the Obama years, a frustrated US Congress threatened to cut US contributions, while administration officials retreated from taking a proactive role in the OAS. For its part, the Trump government has boycotted hearings of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission and reduced its funding. The article concludes with a discussion of the inter-American system without the domineering presence of the nation which spawned it to promote its own geopolitical priorities, precisely when an effective regional body is crucial for addressing many hemispheric challenges. Resumen El sistema interamericano abarca el marco institucional y legal promovido por los Estados Unidos de America despues de la primera Conferencia Internacional de Estados Americanos en Washington, DC, en 1890 como un medio de consolidar la hegemonia estadounidense en el hemisferio occidental. Despues de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, se identifico mas con la Organizacion de Estados Americanos (OEA) y el Tratado Interamericano de Asistencia Reciproca (tambien conocido como el Tratado de Rio). Los primeros desafios significativos para el dominio y el liderazgo estadounidense dentro del sistema interamericano aparecieron en las decadas de 1970 y 1980, aunque no se convirtio en sintomatico de una disminucion mas extensa de la hegemonia estadounidense en America Latina hasta la administracion de George W. Bush. De hecho, muchos paises se retiraron del Tratado de Rio, se negaron a participar en el sistema interamericano de derechos humanos y utilizaron la OEA para repudiar la politica exterior estadounidense sobre Cuba y la “Guerra contra las drogas”. Ademas, aparecieron nuevas organizaciones hemisfericas como la Union de Naciones Suramericanas y la Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribenos que excluian expresamente a los Estados Unidos. Durante los anos de Obama, un frustrado Congreso de los Estados Unidos amenazo con recortar las contribuciones estadounidenses, mientras que los funcionarios de la administracion se retiraron de ejercer un papel proactivo en la OEA. Por su parte, el gobierno de Trump ha boicoteado las audiencias de la Comision Interamericana de Derechos Humanos y reducido su financiacion. Este estudio concluye con una discusion sobre el sistema interamericano sin la presencia dominante de la nacion que lo genero para promover sus propias prioridades geopoliticas, precisamente cuando un organismo regional eficaz es crucial para abordar multiples desafios hemisfericos.

By the time US President Barack Hussein Obama appeared at the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad in April 2009, the ambitious initiative to economically integrate the Americas that had previously dominated the Summit of the Americas process lay in tatters. Accordingly, there was much speculation as to what Obama would say in Port-of-Spain, especially given that US relations with the Western Hemisphere had barely surfaced as a topic of debate during the presidential campaign. The only policy address Obama had given during the campaign on Latin America and the Caribbean was to the right-wing Cuban American National Foundation in Miami, in May 2008. That speech had focused almost exclusively on topics designed to attract votes from the influential Cuban-American community in South Florida.

Acknowledgments About the Author List of Abbreviations and Acronyms Introduction Chapter 1: Early Attempts at Latin American and Caribbean Economic Integration Chapter 2: Latin American Integration Association Chapter 3: Origins, Current Status, and Future of MERCOSUR Chapter 4: Institutional Framework of MERCOSUR and How the MERCOSUR Economic Integration Process Functions Chapter 5: Foreign Investment Climate Within MERCOSUR and Business Opportunities Chapter 6: Institutional Framework of the Andean Community and How the Andean Economic Integration Process Functions Chapter 7: Foreign Investment Climate Within the Andean Community and Business Opportunities Chapter 8: Central American Integration System Chapter 9: The Caribbean Common Market and Community and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Chapter 10: Rise and Fall of the Free Trade Area of the Americas Chapter 11: Creating a Prosperous Community of the Americas Table of Instruments Bibliography Index.