If the Jamaican society is to extricate itself from its four decades of economic malaise, the 40-year trend of increasing violent crime and insecurity must be reversed. However, this is only possible with proper and adequate diagnoses of causes and the formulation of appropriate policies and solutions. Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean must adopt (and adapt) relevant crime response policies and approaches to fight all types of crimes and violence, and the authors argue that this is only achievable through coordinated strategies and evidence-based policymaking underpinned by an integrated program of cutting-edge research. By identifying the best program assessment indicators and adjusting policies that are inadequate, a country like Jamaica can turn the tide against the criminal organizations that are holding the formal economy and legal institutions hostage. Through careful analysis of other regional programs and perspectives, it is possible to find workable models for Jamaica to follow.
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The rise and involvement of private security companies in what was hitherto the domain of states has been quite topical, calling the attention of academics and practitioners alike as they debate the practical and conceptual issues relating to this change within what can be described as the sovereignty of states. The purpose of this essay is to conduct a case study of the private security industry in Barbados with a view to understanding its structure, reasons for growth, and relationship with the formal police force. I argue that the growth of the private security companies in Barbados will be a force extension to the state law enforcement agencies and can contribute significantly to the fostering of a safe and stable environment.
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In this article, Dr. Philip Kelly discusses the geopolitics of security concerns between the United States and Latin America. Kelly defines the various schools of geopolitics and, subsequently, the characteristics of traditional geopolitics. By breaking down the Western Hemisphere into three separate Americas—North America, Middle America, and South America—Kelly assesses each region and its unique geopolitical characteristics. Finally, the article addresses a number of geopolitical concepts that represent the structure of current Western Hemispheric security. In conclusion, Kelly suggests that South America ultimately remains a low priority in North American strategic security concerns, and posits that a united and prosperous Latin America isolated from Eurasian connections directly benefits North American security.
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This paper provides a comparative analysis of China's emerging role in international relations and its ties to the United States and Latin America, and China's future impact on the Western Hemisphere. The author discusses the challenges and opportunities inherent to the current China-US relations, such as currency, military, intellectual property, cyber security, and human rights tensions, and the impact those factors will have on the relationship in the future. China's pursuit of closer ties with the countries of Latin America, long seen as within the US sphere of influence, represents a major challenge for the US-China relationship.
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This article examines the often contentious role that human rights promotion has played in US foreign policy in Latin America. As a longtime interloper from the North, the United States has employed many different strategies, often resulting in the election to participate in foreign countries' domestic conflicts in aid to one side or another. With regard to human rights, the fact of the matter is that the United States has failed to adopt as many human rights treaties as many other South or Central American nations have. In a globalized world more closely linked than ever before, nations are adopting human rights practices that promise to prevent injustices from occurring as they did in the past, a welcome break from the violent past in Latin America. For myriad reasons, including domestic pressures and belief in "American Exceptionalism," the United States has dodged full participation in many international legal and human rights documents, but this practice has already started to harm international cooperation with and perception of US goals abroad. The author concludes his analysis by suggesting that the United States reconsider its earlier defiance against making human rights a fully fledged tenet of its foreign policy in favor of a new, more cooperative stance.
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The purpose of this research is to determine, from a systemic perspective, how the activities of organized crime in the country are affecting its governance and governability. The author proposes that: Currently in El Salvador organized crime (OC) in its eagerness to increase its profits, control of trafficking routes and markets has become a strategic actor whose activities are affecting the country's governance and governability by destabilizing its political, economic and social spheres. This research presents a comprehensive study of the dynamics in which OC networks are immersed and the negative effects of their activities in El Salvador. At the same time, it identifies the vulnerabilities of the Salvadoran state, as well as the weak points through which these nefarious organizations are permeating its structures and institutions. The author concludes by saying that the Salvadoran State, despite its efforts, does not respond to the requirements and security needs of the population and that the continuation of this course will lead it to gradually lose legitimacy, until it enters a crisis of governability. He proposes that the way to overcome this vicious dynamic is to resort to all available resources, including private security, duly controlled and regulated.
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This article examines the relationship between three basic elements of international relations - regions, states, and security - with the example of Central America as a case study. The author posits that indeed the existence of fragile states coincides with broader measures of stability, and increase levels of both national and regional insecurity. Through a study of the security and stability situation in Central America, the author explains the effects of fragile governments on a regional security complex.
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Some cases related to the fight against terrorism, among others, have challenged some of the categories of international law on the use of force, generating a constant confrontation between what is considered legitimate and what is legal. The invasion of allied countries in Iraq and Afghanistan, the NATO intervention in Kosovo and the incursion of the Colombian state into Ecuadorian territory to attack a FARC guerrilla camp have put the existing legal regime to the test and highlighted some of its limitations, questioning the treatment given to concepts such as "legitimate defense," "armed attack," "necessity," and "proportionality." There are alternatives to overcome some of the main problems, including the possibility of revising the composition and decision-making procedure within the UN Security Council. The doctrine of the use of preventive force, which has been resorted to to a greater extent by states in the fight against terrorism, is a dangerous path that threatens to undermine rights and infringe on freedoms. Historically generally rejected, it is not advisable for the doctrine to be strengthened as an institution of public international law.
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