Students of the drug abuse problem may begin their analyses either at home or abroad. One observer might view the importing nation as the source of the problem, arguing that without its demand/ profit structure there would be no need for another country to grow, or to ship, illicit drugs. A second analyst might, with equal logic, contend that demand is a given, hence the producing country has the obligation, as a member of the family of nations and as signatory to international narcotics conventions, to eliminate domestic trafficking in, and production of, illegal narcotics. Regardless of whether one approaches the problem from the standpoint of either the chicken or the egg, the unassailable fact is that the illicit narcotraffic carries multiple impacts for the source countries.- social, economic and political.

Among the Many Obstacles that confront the government of the United States in its global battle against international drug trafficking, drug-related corruption of foreign governments ranks as one of the most troublesome. It is present in virtually every country. In many of the less developed countries in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, it is pervasive. Not just policemen and customs officials, but judges, generals, cabinet ministers and even presidents and prime ministers are implicated. Corruption in most of these countries is, of course, nothing new—although the temptations posed by the illicit drug traffic are unprecedented. Nor are US diplomats unaccustomed to dealing with foreign corruption. Their experience in this regard dates back to the origins of US diplomacy.

The Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, and consequently their relations with the United States, have changed considerably during the past 25 years. Latin American and Caribbean nations are more populous, urban, industrialized, organized, and assertive than they were a generation ago. Even in a period of extensive economic difficulty, Latin America's nations are today more prosperous than in 1960. Most are better integrated into the world economy and are much more involved in international politics.

In 1989 The Inter-American System will celebrate its centennial anniversary, tracing its lineage to the International Union of the American Republics formed at Secretary of State Blaine's Washington convocation in 1889. Over the years the mantle was passed, first, to the Pan American Union, and then to the system's present incumbent, the Organization of American States (OAS). It has been a century of unprecedented achievement and unremitting frustration, of great triumphs and repeated failures. Given the present state of the system, however, the major question is whether the system can endure, much less match the rhetoric and aspirations of its members, in its second century.

International cooperation is a political decision in search of a framework. The Organization of American States is the attempt to express and enhance that cooperation among the nations of the Western Hemisphere. It is, and can be, no better than the underlying relationships among the nations.

Según lo que aquí visto, es tan buena la justicia que es necesaria que se use aun entre los mesmos ladrones (Sancho Panza).

The growth and importance of the underground economy has come under increasing attention from the economic profession in recent years. However, there is no consensus as to precisely which economic activities can properly be defined as forming this segment of the larger economy, although one observer has commented that they range “from relatively legal to totally criminal, that somehow escape official attention and may distort official statistics and lead to erroneous policies” (Tanzi, 1983:10). The “relatively legal” activities, which exist at one end of the spectrum, basically consist of those normal activities whose exercise is either inhibited by government red tape or which are subject to restrictions (such as minimum standards) which their agents are reluctant to meet.

In Describing Latin America as the “strategic rear” of the United States, the Soviet Union attributes great significance to this region for US interests and, consequently, to any changes which might alter the long-standing US dominance there. That the United States enjoys a unique position in Latin America has consistently been acknowledged by Soviet leaders. The US has been seen as able to enforce a “hands off” policy to extra-hemispheric powers; hence, the Kremlin has referred to “geographic fatalism” as its way of rationalizing the difficulties inherent in successfully effecting communist revolution, or even to advance Soviet influence, in an area so close to the United States.

This Article Assesses the impact of the Cuban military on strategic, diplomatic and political relationships in southern Africa. It does not deal with why Cuba and its Soviet benefactor have interested themselves in the region, nor does it discuss Soviet influence on Cuban foreign policy. The aspects covered here include: (1) how Cuba and Angola fit into the complex pattern of regional relations in southern Africa; (2) an outline of the region's main territorial actors and guerrilla movements, along with a brief history of Cuban involvement in the area; (3) the response of South Africa to this foreign spoiler of its regional hegemony, (4) regional cooperation in southern Africa insofar as it is a response to South Africa's militancy in the face of international communism as represented in the region by Cuba; and (5) Cuba's effect upon the economy and polity of Angola and Mozambique.

In Less than Twenty Years Brazil has become one of the ten largest exporters of conventional armaments in the world. How the Brazilian armaments industry has achieved such success offers a rich case study of an effective division of labor between state and firm. With the state acting as technological agent and ambassador to external markets, the firms have become innovators of internationally competitive armaments systems. Rather than being forced, by military control, to produce highly sophisticated weapons systems, Brazilian defense firms receive support to develop products which cater to an international demand for those conventional armaments which occupy a niche just below the technological frontier defined by the superpowers.

The Third World Debt Crisis continues to burden the US economy, our foreign policy, the international financial system, and the future of many developing countries. The cancerous debt has not terminated the afflicted parties, but it is damaging many US interests. The debt disease eats at the foundations of our banking system, shrinks our export markets, and irritates our foreign relations. For the developing nations, this persistent illness deepens poverty, consumes scarce national savings, undermines adjustment efforts, and threatens eventually to destabilize emerging democracies.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently published a pamphlet on the question of whether the IMF, as an institution, imposes austerity on debtors. The response focused on the second half of the question and argued that IMF adjustment programs were, in fact, not systematically austere. However, from a political perspective, the first half of the question is much more provocative. Does the IMF “impose” its will on member states, and, if so, how? Many have argued i that, by virtue of its political connections with the financial centers of the world and its intellectual sophistication, the so-called “negotiations” which debtor nations conduct with Fund staff, prior to the drafting of an agreement on lending conditions, is little more than an exercise in coercion on the part of the Fund.

Five Years after the lapse that occurred in European-Latin American relations as a result of the Malvinas/Falklands conflict (Rhein, 1983; Bodemer, 1985), and two years after the entry of Spain and Portugal into the European Community (CE), it would appear appropriate to review the relations between the European Community and Latin America. At the suggestion of the president of the Spanish government, Felipe González, who, among European heads of state, not only has a strong personal interest in Latin America, but also displays the most differentiated knowledge of the region, the European Council decided, in 1986 at The Hague (La Vanguardia, 1986), to charge the Commission of the European Community to come up with new guidelines regarding EC relations with Latin America.

Since his accession to the presidency; Alan García has pursued a very active foreign policy for Peru, quite different from the low-profile, conservative policy of his predecessor, former President Fernando Belaúnde Terry (1980-1985). In so doing, his policy represents a return to the active model employed, prior to the Belaúnde administration, by the military governments of Generals Velasco (1968-1975) and Morales Bermúdez (1975-1980), of which Velasco's was by far the more active.

During the years of military rule, the government had linked internal policy to foreign policy, had sought greater autonomy vis-a-vis the United States, had favored relationships with the Non-Aligned Movement and with Third World and socialist countries, and had emphasized active participation in international organizations.

One of the Most Notable Aspects of the Crisis in Central America has been the opportunity it has offered a number of actors, both within and without the region, to become involved in an area long considered a traditional reserve and zone of influence of the United States. Over the last decade, no European Socialist or Social Democratic party has been more important or influential with respect to Central American issues than the West German Social Democratic Party (SPD or Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands). Despite being in the opposition since 1982, the West German Social Democrats have retained their prominence on international issues—particularly on Central American ones—for a number of reasons, such as: (1) having a solid electoral base (37% of the votes in the 1987 Bundestag elections); (2) having leaders who are internationally prominent; (3) having a well-organized foreign policy apparatus at their disposal (the well-financed Friedrich Ebert Stiftung foundation); (4) having connections to a similarly endowed trade union movement, organized around the Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund(DGB); as well as (5) having persisted in their efforts to coordinate joint initiatives with other Socialist and Social Democratic parties, both within the European Economic Community (EEC) and through the Socialist International (SI).

While it is Still too Early to draw decisive conclusions about the ongoing process of reform in the USSR, there are some observations that might safely be made. Glasnost has generally come to be viewed as a profound attempt to re-evaluate a number of time-honored principles of Marxism-Leninism before the actual undertaking of perestroika (policy reform) itself. If the scope and potential success of perestroika are the subject of heated scholarly debate in the West, a consensus holds that, thus far, a process of rethinking, re-evaluating, and transforming approaches to domestic policies in the USSR lie at its core. In light of the importance of the reform for the evolution of the Soviet domestic system, its influence upon the conduct of Soviet foreign policy represents an intriguing area for examination.

The Amount of Freedom enjoyed by individuals varies widely in countries around the world. In the Americas it is a matter of particular concern because of a common history of colonialism. This concern is complicated by ideological and scholarly disagreements about just what constitutes freedom. Such impediments notwithstanding, the subject holds broad public interest and frequently is the basis for comparing governments although not always in an informed manner.

The long-term effects of the April 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Soviet Union extend far beyond that nation's borders. To be sure, radioactive materials spewed into the atmosphere at Chernobyl covered a wide swath across Europe and provoked a strong reaction from neighboring states. More important and potentially more long-lasting, Chernobyl caused the world to undertake a fundamental rethinking of its position on nuclear power and to consider whether the benefits continued to outweigh the risks.

In countries as different, in energy resources, economic circumstances, and political systems, as Austria, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Mexico, Brazil, and the United States, public opinion has been a powerful force behind the reconsideration of decisions already taken to build new nuclear power plants or to place in commission plants which are close to completion. Even in Eastern Europe, pressure from environmentalists has compelled governments to address publicly — albeit superficially — the benefits and risks of nuclear power.

Revolution is Always a Latent Course of action for opposition groups in Mexico where no peaceful process exists for real change of control of political power.

Mexicans opposed to the continued domination of their country by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional, PRI), which has ruled Mexico since 1929, have compared this year's presidential election to that of 1910. Reelection then of President Porfirio Daz, who had been dictator for 34 years, led directly to the society-shattering revolution which devastated Mexico for well over a decade. The population of Mexico, 15 million in 1910, dropped to 14 million by 1920.

Analysis of political trends in Mexico indicates, however, that while armed revolt against continuing political and economic control by the PRI remains an option for the opposition, Mexico's government is not now, nor is it likely to be in the foreseeable future, in danger of being overthrown.

The Term Which best sums up the current international economic situation is the word “crisis.” This crisis exists not only in the economies of the South, harassed over the past five years by external debt and the adjustment measures which it has spawned, but also in the economies of the North, often saddled with substantial deficits.

Surrounding the state of crisis is a general sense of confusion as to the proper direction to take to deal with this crisis. The future appears opaque, which renders the choice of remedies even more difficult than would normally be the case under better circumstances.

Costa rican amado madrigal porres is a truck driver/owner in his mid-forties who has been delivering cargo to clients throughout Central America for over 20 years. In June 1984, he started out with two trucks loaded with glassware and dishes destined for a market complex in Honduras. He and his son, age 22, had to drive both trucks through Nicaragua in order to arrive at their destination. On this trip they were stopped in a small village in Nicaragua about 50 miles from the Costa Rican border. Porres and his son were held incommunicado for 16 days in jail. His life was threatened as well as that of his son. When word reached his wife that they had not arrived at their Honduran destination, she spent thousands of dollars trying to locate them and win their release.