US Foreign Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean Pastor, R.A. & Long, T. (2010). The Cold War and its Aftermath in the Americas: The Search

for a Synthetic Interpretation of U.S. Policy. Latin American Research Review, 45(3), 261-273.

Pastor and Long conducted a search of synthetic interpretation of the United States foreign policy in Latin America and the Caribbean in the aftermath of the Cold War through examining existing literature of U.S. foreign policy in the Americas. This search was carried out on the premise that some scholars have focused on understanding U.S. foreign policy and inter-American relations in the aftermath of the Cold War. This analysis is carried out on the premise that numerous books and review essays have been developed to examine the Americas in the post-Cold War era and current or future issues in the inter-American agenda. The focus of this article is to examine how U.S. foreign policy in Latin America and the Caribbean has been characterized by neglect and whether the policy focuses on future issues in inter-American relations. Therefore, the thesis of the article is that literature on U.S. foreign policy in the Americas should be synthesized in light of future issues in the relations between these nations.

The author supports this thesis by reviewing literature addressing U.S. foreign policy in the Americas during the Cold War, the post-Cold War era, and current and future issues in the relations between these countries. With regards to the Cold War era, the authors argue that scholars focused on examining the lamppost of U.S. foreign policy to identify existing issues in inter-American relations. This was primarily because of the lack of proper channels for freedom-of-information, especially information in government documents. Since the conduct of the United States was a major aspect in determining its policy in the Americas during this era, policy was based on U.S. superiority and Latin America's inferiority. As a result, the U.S. foreign policy toward the Americas was motivated by...

Scholars who use this perspective in examining U.S. policy towards the Americas during the Cold War postulate that the policy was geared towards maintaining control of this region, justifying an unjust order, and suppressing progressive movements.
In relation to the post-Cold War era, there was a significant change in U.S. foreign policy in Latin America because of the sharp change in the inter-America agenda. Existing literature postulates that this era was characterized by ideological struggles and democratic contests, which forced the United States to engage in a much-lessened attention and resources level. Most scholars' view of U.S. foreign policy in the Americas was influenced by anti-imperialist or radical perspectives. During this period, the United States is less controlled while countries in the Americas have improved capacities to diversify their relationships.

Based on current and future issues in the inter-American relations, Latin America and the Caribbean are seemingly more distant from U.S. foreign policy and much closer to domestic policy (Pastor & Long, 2010, p.267). As shown in existing literature, Latin America's proximity to U.S. domestic policy is attributable to the fact that most controversial and pertinent domestic issues in the United States such as drug trafficking and immigration involve Latin America. Consequently, numerous books and reviewed articles acknowledge this trend and propose policies to address inter-American relations. This literature shows that U.S. foreign policy in the Americas should be more inclusive because of the need for cooperation in dealing with intermestic issues. Inter-American cooperation as part of U.S. foreign policy in the Americas should focus on energy, trade, and drugs since these are most controversial dilemmas that the region faces in the 21st Century.

Through examining numerous books and reviewed essays, the authors demonstrate the need for synthetic interpretation of U.S. foreign policy in the Americas because the country's…