The Middlebrook and Rico volume is a collection of first-rate, well-researched articles. It is a very timely book, and one that is “must reading” for those academics with an interest in present-day inter-American relations. It should be of value, as well, to U.S. companies doing business in or with Latin America. And, it is a book that those responsible for U.S. policy toward and relations with Latin America would do well to read.
Three major themes emerge from the book. (1) Although (with the obvious exception of Sandinista Nicaragua and the Contras) the attention of U.S. public officials and the media tends to be focused elsewhere, in the 1980s the relationship between the United States and Latin America is an important one, a vital one—more so than earlier in the century. That relationship is vital not just for the countries of Latin America, but also for the United States—although at times Washington does not seem to recognize the fact. (2) The relationship between the United States and Latin America in the 1980s is one of great and growing complexity. In addition to the old issues in the relationship, difficult new ones have emerged in recent years—e.g., the massive debt problem that concerns the United States at least as much as the Latin American countries which owe the money; Latin American migration north; the emergence of fragile democratic regimes in much of Latin America and how best to sustain and nurture them; trade issues; human rights; U.S. policy in Central America; the U.S. stance during the Falkland Islands war; U.S. intervention in Grenada; new and different challenges to security, a no-longer-very-effective inter-American system; and drug trafficking (the latter issue is not adequately treated in the book). (3) In the 1980s there is a very sharp divergence between the United States and Latin America on a great many of the issues. Divergence is not new; but it is now more extensive and intensive, and its scope includes many more subjects.
Following a lengthy, very perceptive introductory chapter, the book is divided into four parts. Part one addresses the political economy of contemporary U. S.-Latin American relations. Part two examines explicitly economic issues—especially trade and debt—in the relationship. Part three is devoted to some of the political and social issues. Part four is concerned with security issues. What makes each of these parts and the book as a whole so valuable is that each section contains contributions on each topic by Latin American, as well as U. S., authors. Thus, issues are seen from both perspectives and the divergence in U.S.-Latin American relations is made dramatically clear.
This excellent, highly informative, and well-researched book can be faulted on two counts. One, it contains no index. That is maddening with a book of such length. Two, it does not contain a concluding chapter that summarizes systematically the vast number of ideas and conflicting views presented.
