US Hegemony and the Americas : Power and Economic Statecraft in International Relations

"In this book, Arturo Santa-Cruz advances an understanding of power as a social relationship and applies it consistently to the economic realm in United States relations with other countries of the Western Hemisphere. Following the academic and popular debate on the ebb and flow of US hegemony, this work centers the analysis in a critical case for the exercise of US power through its economic statecraft: the Americas-its historical zone of influence. The rationale for the regional focus is methodological: if it can be shown that Washington's sway has decreased in the area since the early 1970s, when the discussion about this matter started, it can be safely assumed that the same has occurred in other latitudes. The analysis focuses on three regions: North America, Central America and South America. Since each region contains countries that have at times maintained very different relationships with the United States, the findings contribute to a better understanding of the practice of US power in the sub-region in question, adding greater variability to the overall results. US Hegemony and the Americas: Power and Economic Statecraft in International Relations is an invaluable resource for students and scholars interested in Latin American History and Politics, North American Regional Integration, International Relations, Economic Statecraft, Political Economy and Comparative Politics"-- Provided by publisher Dedication 6 Contents 8 List of Abbreviations 9 Introduction 12 1 Five Decades and Still Going: The Debate on the Decline of US Hegemony 18 2 Hierarchy and Authority in Regional Orders: The Western Hemisphere 39 3 On Power 63 4 Thick Economic Statecraft and the Political Economy of US Power 77 5 United States’ Economic Statecraft toward Canada 113 6 United States’ Economic Statecraft toward México 138 7 United States’ Economic Statecraft toward Central America 168 8 United States’ Economic Statecraft toward South America 190 Conclusions 225 Index 242 Arturo Santa-Cruz advances an understanding of power as a social relation and applies it consistently to the economic realm in the United States relationship with eight countries in four regions of the Americas: North America, Central America, Andean Region, Southern Cone.