This article provides highlights of the Perry Center's 2022 cyber policy course, “Cybersecurity Policy in the Americas: Challenges for Policy-Strategic Analysis,” led by Dr. Boris Saavedra.
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A moderated discussion with guest speaker Lt. Col. Michael Jones, Executive Director of CARICOM IMPACS, exploring the development of the Caribbean Maritime Security Strategy and its implications in the region.
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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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A moderated discussion with two of the authors of the recently published English-language book Adversarial System Analysis of the Salvadoran Gangs which examines the organizational dynamics and evolution of the Salvadoran gangs.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the post-World War II political, economic, social and international order with many questioning whether our current democratic and economic institutions are suitable for and capable of recovering from this profound health, economic and governance crisis. While democracies and open economies were hard hit by the pandemic, illicit networks including transnational criminal groups, terrorist organizations and their facilitators have proven more resilient, expanding their activities and influence in the Americas. This article will examine the impact COVID-19 has had on the health, economy, democracy, security of the region and on illicit networks. The article will conclude with recommendations on how nations incorporate strategic foresight and anticipatory governance to safeguard their sovereignty and counter to the growing threats from corruption and illicit networks in the new world order.
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Revenue from illegal drugs is the principal source of income for transnational organized crime groups in the Americas. Cocaine is the biggest revenue generator. Heroin and fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, have recently surged in Mexico. This report examines the surge in cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl from the Americas. Data are draw from the US Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)'s National Drug Control Strategy Data Supplement from 2020 and from the ONDCP Drug Dashboard.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, life as we knew it changed dramatically as activities, both licit and illicit, moved to the virtual world. We witnessed shopping, college classes, diplomatic meetings, financial transactions, and organized crime activities transition online almost overnight. The pandemic has empowered transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) to establish new virtual markets for their drug, human, arms, and contraband trafficking and money laundering with cryptocurrencies.
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Current events warrant a review of US civil-military relations doctrine. This special commentary examines eight principles of military subordination to elected civilian officials and addresses the fundamental question at the heart of civil-military relations theory and practice, namely, what options, if any, does the military professional have when civilian leadership disregards military advice? Examples drawn from US history can provide an important framework for understanding the complex interrelational dynamics at play.
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