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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The objective of this paper is to analyze, apply and then contrast the four theoretical pillars of terrorism to the war against narcoterrorism that the Mexican government has developed between 2007 and 2011. The central hypothesis proposes that there is no terrorism in Mexico, because the core elements that support this concept, such as political motivation, premeditation, attack on civilians and generalized terror, are not seen in reality.
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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the political discourse and public policies that gave rise to the Democratic Security Policy implemented in Colombia by President Uribe during his two administrations between 2002 and 2010, and to evaluate its results. For this purpose, the security discourse proposed by the candidate in his "Democratic Manifesto" is studied, confronted with the public policies included in the Development Plans and implemented during his presidency, the consistency between the political discourse and governmental actions is analyzed, and its results are evaluated on the basis of objective security indicators.
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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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The taking of political power through arms has been the main objective of insurgent groups around the world. Mao was the first to achieve this and developed a model that others have tried to emulate; but has proven to be impractical due to its basic premises such as popular mobilization (which has been very difficult to achieve), and the permanent intention to provoking the "masses" to rise against their government. This article studies the basic elements of the Maoist model and its application in different regions of the world, including Latin America, and how over time variations have arisen that have fundamentally altered it, giving way to military action as the predominant method.
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