Colombian Labyrinth. The Synergy of Drugs and Insurgency and Its Implications for Regional Stability

Colombian Labyrinth. The Synergy of Drugs and Insurgency and Its Implications for Regional Stability PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Drug trafficking and political disintegration in Colombia could confront the United States, if present trends continue, with the most serious foreign and security policy crisis in the Western Hemisphere since the Central American wars of the 1980s. The first question is why Colombia matters. U.S. policy toward Colombia has been driven to a large extent by counter-narcotics considerations, but the situation in that South American country is a national security as much as a drug policy problem. Colombia is a strategically important country. It is South America's fourth largest country in area and the second largest in population. It is the only South American country with coastlines on both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and it is contiguous to the Caribbean basin, Central America, Venezuela and its oil fields, and Panama and the Canal. Colombia also has some of the largest untapped petroleum reserves in the Western Hemisphere. Colombia's trajectory will also influence the direction of broader trends in the unstable Andean region and beyond.

Colombian Labyrinth. The Synergy of Drugs and Insurgency and Its Implications for Regional Stability

Colombian Labyrinth. The Synergy of Drugs and Insurgency and Its Implications for Regional Stability PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Drug trafficking and political disintegration in Colombia could confront the United States, if present trends continue, with the most serious foreign and security policy crisis in the Western Hemisphere since the Central American wars of the 1980s. The first question is why Colombia matters. U.S. policy toward Colombia has been driven to a large extent by counter-narcotics considerations, but the situation in that South American country is a national security as much as a drug policy problem. Colombia is a strategically important country. It is South America's fourth largest country in area and the second largest in population. It is the only South American country with coastlines on both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and it is contiguous to the Caribbean basin, Central America, Venezuela and its oil fields, and Panama and the Canal. Colombia also has some of the largest untapped petroleum reserves in the Western Hemisphere. Colombia's trajectory will also influence the direction of broader trends in the unstable Andean region and beyond.

Colombian Labyrinth. The Synergy of Drugs and Insurgency and Its Implications for Regional Stability

Colombian Labyrinth. The Synergy of Drugs and Insurgency and Its Implications for Regional Stability PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 131

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Book Description
Drug trafficking and political disintegration in Colombia could confront the United States, if present trends continue, with the most serious foreign and security policy crisis in the Western Hemisphere since the Central American wars of the 1980s. The first question is why Colombia matters. U.S. policy toward Colombia has been driven to a large extent by counter-narcotics considerations, but the situation in that South American country is a national security as much as a drug policy problem. Colombia is a strategically important country. It is South America's fourth largest country in area and the second largest in population. It is the only South American country with coastlines on both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and it is contiguous to the Caribbean basin, Central America, Venezuela and its oil fields, and Panama and the Canal. Colombia also has some of the largest untapped petroleum reserves in the Western Hemisphere. Colombia's trajectory will also influence the direction of broader trends in the unstable Andean region and beyond.

Colombian Labyrinth

Colombian Labyrinth PDF Author: Angel Rabasa
Publisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
U.S. policy toward Colombia has been driven to a large extent by counter-narcotics considerations, but the evolving situation in that South American country confronts the United States with as much of a national security as a drug policy problem. Colombia is a geostrategically important country, whose trajectory will influence broader trends in the Andean region and beyond. Colombian Labyrinth examines the sources of instability in the country; the objectives, strategy, strengths, and weaknesses of the government, guerrillas, and paramilitaries and the balances among them; and the effects of the current U.S. assistance program. Possible scenarios and futures for Colombia are laid out, with implications for both the United States and neighboring countries. The authors find that instability in Colombia stems from the interaction and synergies of the underground drug economy and armed challenges to the state's authority. Solutions to the core problem--the weakness of the Colombian State--must focus on resolving the broader set of political-military challenges that result from the convergence of drug trafficking and insurgency. The authors recommend that Colombia's military and institutional capabilities be improved to enable the Colombian government to regain control of the countryside and that, at the same time, the United States work with Colombia's neighbors to contain the risk of spillover and regional destabilization.

Colombian Agency and the making of US Foreign Policy

Colombian Agency and the making of US Foreign Policy PDF Author: Alvaro Mendez
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317215729
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
This book studies a significant event in US relations with Latin America, shedding light on the role of dependent states and their foreign policy agency in the process by which local concerns become intertwined with the dominant state’s foreign policy. Plan Colombia was a large-scale foreign aid programme through which the US intervened in the internal affairs of Colombia, by invitation. It proved to be one of the major successes of US foreign policy, and has been credited with stemming a potentially catastrophic security failure of the Colombian state. This book discusses the strategies and practices deployed by the Colombian government to influence US foreign policy decision making at the bureaucratic, legislative and executive levels, and is a distinctive contribution to our understanding of the dynamics of small power agency. Giving a clearer insight into the decision making processes in both the US and Colombia, this book founds its argument on solid empirical analysis assembled from interviews of the major players in the events including: Andres Pastrana, President of Colombia; Thomas Pickering, US State Department; Arturo Valenzuela, Senior Director for Inter-American Affairs at the NSA; General Barry McCaffrey, the US ‘Drug Czar’; and Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the US House of Representatives. Approaching the events in question from a bottom-up theoretical perspective that puts the emphasis on the facts of the case, this book will be of great interest to academics, students and policy makers in the field of foreign policy analysis, US foreign policy studies, and Latin American studies.

Understanding Security Practices in South Asia

Understanding Security Practices in South Asia PDF Author: Monika Barthwal-Datta
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136322795
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
This book explores the ways in which non-state actors (NSAs) in South Asia are involved in securitizing non-traditional security challenges in the region at the sub-state level. South Asia is the epicentre of some of the most significant international security challenges today. Yet, the complexities of the region’s security dynamics remain under-researched. While traditional security issues, such as inter-state war, border disputes and the threat of nuclear devastation in South Asia, remain high on the agendas of policy-makers and academics both within and beyond the region, scant attention has been paid to non-traditional or ‘new’ security challenges. Drawing on various case studies, this work offers an innovative analysis of how NSAs in South Asia are shaping security discourses in the region and tackling security challenges at the sub-state level. Through its critique of securitization theory, the book calls for a new approach to studying security practices in South Asia – one which considers NSAs as legitimate security actors. This book will be of much interest to students of security studies, Asian security, Asian politics, critical security studies, and IR in general.

Money in the Bank

Money in the Bank PDF Author: Angel Rabasa
Publisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN: 0833041592
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 103

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Book Description
As insurgent threats evolve and assume new forms, the United States must also evolve in its ability to counter potentially prolonged threats in several parts of the world. Because of the potential for global reach in contemporary insurgencies, the ability to draw on lessons learned from past counterinsurgency (COIN) campaigns using different historical cases can be valuable, helping current and future leaders prevent a repetition of mistakes and building a foundation on which to build contemporary responses. To this end, six historic COIN operations from the 19th and 20th centuries are examine.

The Lockwood Analytical Method for Prediction (LAMP)

The Lockwood Analytical Method for Prediction (LAMP) PDF Author: Jonathan S. Lockwood
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1623568617
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
The Lockwood Analytical Method for Prediction (LAMP) is a systematic technique for predicting short-term, unique behaviors. Using primarily qualitative empirical data, LAMP allows the analyst to predict the most likely outcomes for specific research questions across a wide range of intelligence problems, such as cyber threats in the U.S., the possibility of an Al Qaeda attack, the likelihood of Iran providing nuclear capability to terrorist groups, or the future actions of the Mexican drug cartel. LAMP offers an innovative and powerful method for organizing all available information based on the perceptions of the national actors, using it to make relevant predictions as to which alternate future is most likely to occur at a given moment in time. Its transparent structure enables anyone to see how an analyst gets from point A to point B to produce an intelligence estimate. LAMP differs from other analytical techniques in that it is based on determining the relative probability of a range of alternate futures, rather than attempting to determine the quantitative probability of their occurrence. After explaining its theoretical framework, the text leads the reader through the process of predictive analysis before providing practical case studies showing how LAMP is applied against real world problems, such as the possible responses of Israel, the U.S., and Lebanon to the behavior of Hezbollah or the competing visions of the future of Afghanistan. Evaluation of the method is provided with the case studies to show the effectiveness of the LAMP predictions over time. The book is complemented by a website with downloadable software for use by students of intelligence in conducting their own predictive analysis. It will be an essential tool for the analyst and the student, not only for national security issues but also for competitive intelligence.

Bad Neighbor Policy

Bad Neighbor Policy PDF Author: Ted Galen Carpenter
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1403961379
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
The domestic phase of Washington's war on drugs has received considerable criticism over the years from Milton Friedman, William F. Buckley, Kurt Schmoke, and other luminaries who have catalogued the destructive effects on American society. More recent converts such as New Mexico Governer Gary Johnson do the same. However, most critics have not stressed the damage that the international phase of the drug war has done to our Latin American neighbours. That lack of attention has begun to change, and there has been some disenchantment with the hemispheric drug war. Some prominent Latin American political leaders have finally dared to criticize Washington's actions and even hint that the option of legalization should be considered. At the same time, the US government seems determined to perpetuate, if not intensify, the antidrug crusade. The $1.3 billion military aid package to Colombia approved by Congress in the summer of 2000 confirms that the international phase of the campaign against drugs still has powerful support. Spending on federal antidrug measures also continues to increase, and the tactics employed by drug war bureaucracy, both here and abroad bring the inflammatory "drug war" metaphor closer to reality. Ending the prohibitionist system would produce numerous benefits for both Latin American societies and the United States.

Terrorism in Perspective

Terrorism in Perspective PDF Author: Sue Mahan
Publisher: SAGE Publications
ISBN: 1452256195
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 457

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Book Description
The Third Edition of Terrorism in Perspective, like its two successful predecessors, takes a broad-based approach that emphasizes the historical, cultural, political, religious, social, and economic factors that underlie an understanding of both global and domestic terrorism. This unique text-reader combines original essays with the best of the existing literature on terrorism. Each chapter of this text begins with an overview essay written by the authors, followed by two relevant and engaging articles culled from a wide variety of popular, academic, and governmental sources. This is the only major terrorism text to incorporate readings from top terrorism experts into a traditional textbook format, allowing readers to deepen their understanding of each aspect of terrorism.

Intersections of Crime and Terror

Intersections of Crime and Terror PDF Author: James J.F. Forest
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317980204
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 221

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Book Description
During the last ten years an increasing number of government and media reports, scholarly books and journal articles, and other publications have focused our attention on the expanded range of interactions between international organized crime and terrorist networks. A majority of these interactions have been in the form of temporary organizational alliances (or customer-supplier relationships) surrounding a specific type of transaction or resource exchange, like document fraud or smuggling humans, drugs or weapons across a particular border. The environment in which terrorists and criminals operate is also a central theme of this literature. These research trends suggest the salience of this book which addresses how organized criminal and terrorist networks collaborate, share knowledge and learn from each other in ways that expand their operational capabilities. The book contains broad conceptual pieces, historical analyses, and case studies that highlight different facets of the intersection between crime and terrorism. These chapters collectively help us to identify and appreciate a variety of dynamics at the individual, organizational, and contextual levels. These dynamics, in turn, inform a deeper understanding of the security threat posted by terrorists and criminal networks and how to respond more effectively. This book was published as a special issue of Terrorism and Political Violence.