United States And Venezuela: Rethinking A Relationship (contemporary Inter-american Relations, 3)

Oil makes up one-third of Venezuela's entire GDP, and the United States is far and away Venezuela's largest trading partner. Relations between Venezuela and the United States, traditionally close for most of the last two centuries, began to fray in the last decade as the end of the Cold War altered the international environment. The United States and Venezuela attempts to place the events of the past ten years in historical perspective and to explain the reasons why the changes occurred. It also examines the impact of new actors on the international scene: drug traffickers, common citizens, human rights and environmental activists and the media. Relations between the United States and Venezuela, though traditionally close for most of the last two centuries, began to fray in the last decade as the end of the Cold War altered the international environment. The close and friendly relationship that developed between the two countries can be explained by the fact that Venezuela has consistently been a top supplier of oil imported to the United States, however, there is lingering distrust between the two countries. In The United States and Venezuela, Kelly and Romero attempt to place the events of the past ten years in historical perspective and to explain the reasons why these changes have occurred. Examining the impact of new actors on the international scene, drug traffickers, environmental activists, and human rights, the authors conclude that, in the long term, relations between the United States and Venezuela will not stray far from the traditional friendship that has been a fixed element in their bilateral relations. Machine generated contents note: ONE THE PAST IS PRELUDE: HISTORICAL BASES FOR U.S.-VENEZUELAN RELATIONS 5 TWO GLOBAL CHANGES AND RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND VENEZUELA 26 THREE THE NEW ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 53 FOUR THE DOMESTIC SOURCES OF FOREIGN POLICY 66 FIVE GETTING ALONG: ISSUES IN U.S.-VENEZUELAN RELATIONS 94 SIX TRANSNATIONAL POLITICS AND BILATERAL RELATIONS 127 SEVEN CONCLUSIONS 138 APPENDIX I PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES AND VENEZUELA: 1900-2001 145 APPENDIX II VENEZUELA AND THE UNITED STATES: A COMPARISON, 1997 146. Oil makes up one-third of Venezuela's entire GDP, and the United States is far and away Venezuela's largest trading partner. This book examines how relations between Venezuela and the United States, traditionally close for most of the last two centuries, began to fray in the 1990s AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE PRESENT REQUIRES KNOWLEDGE of the past, especially in international relations, where collective memories of far-off events often color perceptions for many years.