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In this article for US Northern Command’s magazine, The Watch, Dr. William Godnick describes the contours and challenges faced at the United States’ "third border" in the Caribbean, specifically the multi-island state of the Bahamas. Dr. Godnick outlines the long-standing bilateral relationship between the United States and the Bahamas and how increased Chinese investment presents a new set of challenges for the relationship. He calls for re-thinking how security cooperation relationships should be forged with high, middle-income countries to avoid security gaps in our shared neighborhood.

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A review of Yale University professor Yanilda Maria Garcia’s book Authoritarian Police in Democracy, Contested Security in Latin America. Focuses on obstacles and enablers of police reform through field research in Argentina, Brazil and Colombia.

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Authors William Godnick and Iñaki Aguerreche assembled a thorough investigation and analysis on the occurrence of military interventions in the prison system in Latin America and the Caribbean. This insightful portrayal of the reality of prisons in many countries is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding this problem in the region.

This Occasional Paper is an english-language translation of Godnick’s and Aguerreche’s research which originally appeared in Fuerza pública en América Latina: Sus retos y buenas prácticas a la luz de la democracia y los derechos humanos (Public Forces in Latin America: Challenges and Good Practices in the Light of Democracy and Human Rights), published by the University of Guadalajara Press in 2022.

Perry Center Research Associate Chase Boone worked on the English translation.

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The outdated capabilities of the armed forces of many Latin American countries, as well as divided loyalties to their preferred security partners (think China and the United States), force them to be prepared for future scenarios. The author presents the strategic foresight initiatives that the United States and Australia have designed to address their own scenarios of future defense needs, and details the relevance and applicability they may have for different scenarios in other countries in the hemisphere. Dr. Godnick offers an analysis of these foresight tools as an instrument for assessing and improving the region's security and defense in the coming years.
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This paper focuses on vaccination practices among the Western Hemisphere's armed forces. The paper will look at three issues: (1) the institutional and normative sources of vaccine requirements and mandates; (2) the alternatives provided to service members who choose not to be vaccinated; and (3) incentives and penalties for non-compliance. The analysis is broken down by sub-regions of the Western Hemisphere: North America, the Caribbean (non-Spanish speaking), Central America and the Dominican Republic, and South America.
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The Caribbean faces a plethora of security challenges not the least of which are the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change problems, crime, and cyber security gaps. This collection of essays from participants in the Caribbean Defense and Security Course (2021) in August 2021 provides first-hand perspectives of 18 authors who help manage these challenges on behalf of their governments.
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The University of Armed Forces of Ecuador (ESPE) and the Perry Center join together for a virtual discussion on security and defense challenges in Latin America.
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