Latin American's new conflict zones
By (11/07/2008)
Mexico’s attempts to combat drug cartels along its border with the United States and the dispute between Ecuador and Colombia over the bombardment of a FARC camp have shown the extreme difficulties in establishing state control over Latin America's frontiers, and the different views over how this should be done.
Marco Millán/AFP/Getty Images
The state of the negotiated political solution of the Colombian conflict
By (04/07/2008)
Colombian President Álvaro Uribe’s policy of “democratic security” is rooted entirely in counter-insurgent warfare and authoritarianism, which have served to weaken the FARC’s military operations yet do nothing to bring about the conditions for dialogue lasting peace.
US foreign policy towards Latin America's oldest guerrilla group
By (04/07/2008)
US foreign policy toward Colombia is at a crossroads. Colombia’s security achievements – including the recent release of 15 FARC hostages – and prospects for a negotiated solution, coupled with a revived interest in the region’s efforts to solve its own problems, mean that Washington must update its policies in order to further its interests.
Death in Baghdad and the UN role in Iraq
By (22/05/2008)
With "Chasing the Flame – Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World" (Penguin Press, 2008) Samantha Power, Anna Lindh Professor at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, has written a fascinating portrait of the kind of compassionate cosmopolitan figure of which there are far too few in this world. The book is also a remarkably well-researched handbook on the UN, and it contains new and important material for a much-needed discussion, namely: under which circumstances should the UN be engaged in Iraq?
Lebannon: facing another wave of destruction?
By (13/05/2008)
The latest wave of violence in Lebanon shows the limitations of organising the state along confessional lines, and the weight of other countries, from the United States and France to Syria and Iran, along with Israel, in the country’s destiny. Mariano Aguirre analyses the roots of the confrontations and the dangers they represent for the region.
