Politics, Business & Culture in the Americas

From the Think Tanks



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Red de Seguridad y Defensa de América Latina (RESDAL), International Crisis Group, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Crossborder cooperation on crime, the institutional development of police and armed forces, and the role of private security are high on Central America’s public safety agenda. In “Public Security Index, Central America: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama,” Red de Seguridad y Defensa de América Latina (RESDAL) measures the levels of security in six Central American countries. While the figures illustrate the grave security challenges in the region, they also provide a concrete basis for academics, policymakers and civil and international organizations to engage in a “deeply political reading of [security] within a broad historical perspective.”

International Crisis Group

While the Colombian government is negotiating a peace agreement with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—FARC), an agreement with the smaller Ejército de Liberación Nacional (National Liberation Army—ELN) remains elusive. In its report, “Left in the Cold? The ELN and Colombia’s Peace Talks,” the International Crisis Group analyzes Colombia’s attempts to negotiate with the ELN, and offers prescriptions for negotiating with the group both in Colombia and abroad. Recommendations include expediting creative and flexible cooperation between the government and the ELN, engaging the international community in the peace process, and inviting the ELN to participate in the current peace talks with the FARC in Havana.

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Over the past three decades, China has turned into an economic powerhouse, becoming the second largest trade partner for both Mexico and the United States. “China and the New Triangular Relationships in the Americas: China and the Future of U.S.-Mexico Relations,” published by the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, examines areas of instability, including the ways in which China’s growing influence in the region jeopardizes the bilateral relationship between the U.S. and Mexico, and contributes “to the erosion of NAFTA’s integration process.” The authors also note the opportunities for all three countries to benefit through tripartite cooperation.

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