Professor Gregory Weeks

Political Science 3164-001

Spring 2007

Office Hours: MW 10:45-11:45 (Fretwell 435N)

Website: www.politicalscience.uncc.edu/gbweeks

The Dynamics of United States-Latin American Relations

This course addresses the always complicated and often conflictive relationship between Latin America and the United States. It analyzes the historical background and development of that relationship since Latin American independence. Particular attention is given to critical contemporary issues such as terrorism and the drug trade, immigration, international trade, humanitarian aid and U.S. policy toward Cuba.

The course is divided into three sections. The first examines the historical development of U.S.-Latin American relations from independence to the Cold War, highlighting U.S. efforts to become dominant in the hemisphere. Part two looks specifically at the Cold War, as revolutions, military intervention and economic crises had a dramatic and devastating effect on the region. Part three concentrates on the post-Cold War period and the main issues that the United States and Latin America are facing.

The historical background will allow you to better understand and evaluate current policies toward Latin America—it is impossible to grasp these policies (and Latin American reactions to them) without historical perspective. Not only is the drug war a serious problem, but the repercussions of the attacks of September 11, 2001 are also being felt in the region. We will discuss the ways in which the United States perceives the threat of terrorism, and how that affects the formulation of current (and perhaps future) policies.

Required Texts and Readings

J. Joaquín Fraxedas, The Lonely Crossing of Juan Cabrera (1994)

Brian Loveman, Addicted to Failure: U.S. Security Policy in Latin America and the Andean Region (2006)

Gregory Weeks, U.S.-Latin American Relations (draft chapters available on WebCT—the book will come out sometime in the fall)

Coletta A. Youngers and Eileen Rosin, Drugs and Democracy in Latin America: The Impact of U.S. Policy (2005)

In addition, a number of required articles (listed below) are available through WebCT, which is available through 49er Express. If you have never accessed WebCT before, please let me know ASAP and I can easily explain how.

Examination and Coursework

A midterm examination will occur February 28. It will constitute 30% of the course grade. A final examination will occur as indicated in the university final examination schedule—Wednesday, May 9, from 8-10:45 a.m. The final exam will count for 30% of the course grade.

In addition to the two examinations, each student will research and write a 10 page course paper. General topics will be listed on WebCT, and you will need to choose one of them. They are intended to be a guide—if you have a specific topic you’d like to write about that is not listed, you can choose another but only after consultation with me (which can be an email).

You must hand in a one paragraph paper topic with hypothesis on the day of the midterm. This paper must be properly referenced and indicate an effort to synthesize existing literature on the topic chosen. The final draft of the paper is due in class April 18. There will be a penalty of 5 points (that is, a half grade) for every day late (though the minimum grade will be a 50 for any acceptable submission). The paper will count for 25% of the course grade.

I will grade your paper and provide comments, then you will have the optional opportunity to edit it for a higher grade, with a maximum of one full grade improvement (10 points). The edited version is due at the time of the final exam—no late papers will be accepted.

See the Political Science style guide for instructions on how to format the paper, do citations, etc.:

http://www.politicalscience.uncc.edu/jwalsh/stylemanual.html

Given the problem of plagiarism, all papers will be analyzed at www.turnitin.com, which is able to find common sentences and phrases from anything on the internet—the specific details of how to do this will be discussed later in the semester. This site has already caught numerous students. Read the academic integrity statement at the end of this syllabus, but this really comes down to common sense. Plagiarism is an insult to everyone, it is unacceptable, and if you are caught you will be punished to the full extent. Please make all our lives much more pleasant, and don’t do it.

Most plagiarism occurs when students find information on the internet and then copy or paraphrase without giving credit to the original author, and I’ve caught a number of students doing this. We’ll discuss how to reference properly (don’t worry, it’s not difficult), but always ask me if you have any doubts as you are writing. I have a zero tolerance policy, which means that when I find plagiarism the students receives an F in the class and a form is placed on file with the Dean of Students.

We are reading a novel in the class, and 5% of your grade will be a 1-2 page paper on the following topic:

--Juan and Alberto do not know each other, but in their own way each is trying to find the other. Why is that the case?

It is due on April 11.

The final 10% of the grade will be determined by the instructor’s evaluation of the quality of student preparation for, and participation in, class discussion. Quality of student preparation refers to timely completion and thoughtful consideration of the weekly reading assignments. Quality of participation refers to contribution to class discussion with thoughtful questions, comments, and analysis of readings, lectures and films. In addition, before each class period we will spend a few minutes talking about current events that relate to U.S.-Latin American relations, which I hope will further serve to deepen your understanding. Following events through newspapers and the internet is easy and does not take much time.

Please feel free to use office hours and/or email as much as you like, whether you have questions about the topics, your paper, the exams, etc. or even if you would just like to toss around your thoughts on current events. I literally never get tired of talking about this subject.

Topical Outline and Reading Assignments

I. Theoretical Overview and the Early Years of U.S.-Latin American Relations

Week 1 (Jan 8 & 10)

Introduction

Theoretical Background

Weeks, Introduction (on WebCT)

Week 2 (Jan 15 & 17)

NO CLASS ON JANUARY 15

Latin American Independence and International Politics

The Monroe Doctrine and Manifest Destiny

Weeks, Chapters 1 & 2 (on WebCT)

Gregory Weeks, “Almost Jeffersonian: U.S. Recognition Policy toward Latin America,” Presidential Studies Quarterly 31, 3 (September 2001): 490-504.

Week 3 (Jan 22 & 24)

Wielding the Big Stick: U.S. Intervention in the First Half of the Twentieth Century

Is the United States a “Good Neighbor”?

ON JANUARY 26 CLASS WILL MEET IN ATKINS LIBRARY ROOM 124

Weeks Chapter 3 (on WebCT)

II. The Cold War

Week 4 (Jan 29 & 31)

The Early Effects of the Cold War

Guatemala and Cuba

Weeks Chapters 4, 5 and 6 (on WebCT)

Piero Gleijeses, “Ships in the Night: The CIA, the White House and the Bay of Pigs,” Journal of Latin American Studies 27 (February 1995): 1-42.

Week 5 (Feb 5 & 7)

Central America in the 1970s and 1980s: U.S. Reactions to Revolution

Jeane Kirkpatrick, “Dictatorships and Double Standards,” Commentary (November 1979): 34-45.

Jeane Kirkpatrick, “U.S. Security & Latin America,” Commentary (January 1981): 29-40.

Week 6 (Feb 12 & 14)

Dealing With Dictatorships and Democratization

The Debt Crisis in Latin America: The U.S. Role and Reaction

Weeks, Chapter 7

William M. Leogrande, “From Reagan to Bush: The Transition in US Policy towards Central America,” Journal of Latin American Studies 22, 3 (October 1990): 595-621.

Oscar Ugarteche, “The Structural Adjustment Stranglehold: Debt and Underdevelopment in the Americas,” NACLA Report on the Americas (July/August 1999): 21-23.

III. After the Cold War: Critical Issues

Week 7 (Feb 19 & 21)

Dealing with Terrorism and the Drug Trade: A Hemispheric View

Youngers and Rosin, “The U.S. ‘War on Drugs’: Its Impact on Latin America and the Caribbean” (Youngers and Rosin Chapter 1)

Isacson, “The U.S. Military in the War on Drugs” (Youngers and Rosin, Chapter 2)

Youngers, “The Collateral Damage of the U.S. War on Drugs: Conclusions and Recommendations” (Youngers and Rosin, Chapter 10)

Weeks 8 & 9 (Feb 26 & 28; March 12 & 14)

Dealing with Terrorism and the Drug Trade: Bolivia and Colombia

MIDTERM EXAM ON FEBRUARY 28 WITH PAPER HYPOTHESIS

Ramírez Lemus, Stanton, and Walsh, “Colombia: A Vicious Circle of Drugs and War” (Youngers and Rosin, Chapter 4).

Ledebur, “Bolivia: Clear Consequences” (Youngers and Rosin, Chapter 5)

Lehman, “A ‘Medicine of Death’? U.S. Policy and Political Disarray in Bolivia, 1985-2006” (in Loveman, Chapter 5).

Rojas, “Peru: Drug Control Policy, Human Rights, and Democracy” (Youngers and Rosin, Chapter 6).

Use Pizarro and Gaitán (Chapter 2) and Bonilla (Chapter 4) in Loveman book as additional reading.

Week 10 (March 19 & 21)

The “War on Terror” and Human Rights

Loveman, “U.S. Security Policies in Latin America and the Andean Region, 1990-2006” (in Loveman, Chapter 1).

Weeks, Chapters 9 & 10

Week 11 (March 26 & 28)

U.S.-Mexican Relations

Freeman and Sierra, “Mexico: The Militarization Trap” (Youngers and Rosin, Chapter 8)

M. Delal Baer, “Mexico at an Impasse,” Foreign Affairs 83, 1 (Jan/Feb 2004): 101-113.

Week 12 (April 2 & 4)

The United States and Latin American Immigration

Jorge Durand, Douglas S. Massey and Rene M. Zenteno, “Mexican Immigration to the United States: Continuities and Changes,” Latin American Research Review 36, 1 (2001): 107-127

Weeks, Chapter 8.

Weeks 13 & 14 (April 9 & 11; 16 & 18) BOOK PAPER DUE APRIL 11 AND TERM PAPER DUE ON APRIL 18

New and Old Adversaries: Cuba and Venezuela

Louis A. Pérez, Jr., “Fear and Loathing of Fidel Castro: Sources of U.S. Policy Toward Cuba,” Journal of Latin American Studies 34 (2002): 227-254.

Pérez, “U.S. Security Policy and U.S.-Venezuelan Relations” (in Loveman, Chapter 3).

Fraxedas, The Lonely Crossing of Juan Cabrera (all)

Week 15 (April 23 & 25, plus April 30)

U.S. Policy Toward Central America: What Has Changed?

The Issue of Humanitarian Aid

Conclusion and Review

Ana Arana, “The New Battle for Central America,” Foreign Affairs 80, 6 (November/December 2001): 88-101.

Lauren Hickey, “Post-Mitch Central America: The U.S. Response,” NACLA Report on the Americas 33, 2 (September/October 1999): 26.

Academic Integrity

Students have the responsibility to know and observe the requirements of The UNCC Code of Student Academic Integrity. This code forbids cheating, fabrication or falsification of information, multiple submissions of academic work, plagiarism, abuse of academic materials, and complicity in academic dishonesty. Any special requirements or permission regarding academic integrity in this course will be stated by the instructor, and are binding on the students. Academic evaluations in this course include a judgment that the student's work is free from academic dishonesty of any type; and grades in this course therefore should be and will be adversely affected by academic dishonesty. Students who violate the code can be expelled from UNCC. The normal penalty for a first offense is zero credit on the work involving dishonesty and further substantial reduction of the course grade. In almost all cases the course grade is reduced to F. Copies of the code can be obtained from the Dean of Students Office. Standards of academic integrity will be enforced in this course. Students are expected to report cases of academic dishonesty to the course instructor.