As part of the commands' annual posture statements to Congress, General John Kelly of SOUTHCOM and General Charles Jacoby, Jr. of NORTHCOM presented their goals and concerns in testimony before the House and Senate Armed Service Committees on February 26, 2014 and March 13, 2014, respectively. The Perry Center, as one of the Hemisphere's premier venues for security and defense education and outreach, plays a pivotal role in carrying out both NORTHCOM and SOUTHCOM's priorities throughout the year. The following summaries of Gen. Kelly's and Gen. Jacoby's 2014 posture statements provide insight into the key concerns and objectives for the Western Hemisphere regional commands over the course of the year.
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This paper studies the impacts of the military securitization of cyberspace in the international politics of the 21st century. Cyberdefense is chosen as the object of study precisely because it allows inferences to be made about the political-institutional materialization of this issue, seeking support in the theory of securitization, proposed by the Copenhagen School. In this sense, this paper seeks to: (i) identify the main existential (cyber) threats to the military sector, revealing why this process is intensifying in the 21st century; (ii) project the conditions for such securitization; and (iii) explain its effects on international politics, based on the cases of the United States, Brazil and Canada. To this end, the Spectrum of Military Securitization of Cyberspace (ESMC) is designed, a framework of analysis based on the theory of securitization with a focus on cyberdefense in a given time and space. As for the literature review, Brazilian and foreign authors in Political Science and International Relations figure mostly in the body of this work. As for the methodology, it uses the qualitative-quantitative analysis style, despite the use of interviews, case studies, discourse and document analysis. Its conclusion aims to corroborate the hypothesis that, in addition to the securitization of cyberspace by the military sector, this process is reflected in current international politics. Consequently, it is possible to situate the three cases in this ESMC.
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In September 2013, the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies conducted a Hemispheric Forum on US foreign policy in Latin America. The forum, one of a series of conferences that bring distinguished scholars together to discuss matters of urgency in the Hemisphere, addressed the dilemma faced by US policy makers in the current political environment in Latin America and the Caribbean. Panelists remarked on the political relations between the United States and Latin American nations, relations that have grown distant and contentious in the last decade. A summary of the discussion is provided for readers.
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In December 2013 as part of a series of Hemispheric Forums, the William J. Perry Center hosted a round table discussion of democracy in Latin America. In particular, the group analyzed recent and upcoming elections in the Americas, events that might reflect the political uncertainty common in the region. The panelists included a number of subject matter experts on Latin American politics and democracy: Johanna Mendelson Forman, Senior Associate, Program on Crisis, Conflict and Cooperation at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Roberto Izurieta, Director of Latin American Projects for the Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM) at George Washington University; and Harold Trinkunas, Charles W. Robinson Chair and Senior Fellow and Director of the Latin America Initiative at the Brookings Institution. Luis Bitencourt, Dean of Academics at the Perry Center, moderated the panel.
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The Writing Guide contains helpful advice on developing a thesis statement, citing references, creating a bibliography, using transitional sentences, and proofreading.
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