A new book by a University researcher in international relations uses material published by Wikileaks to conclude that Trump-style nationalism will be counterbalanced by the growing strength of the Latino vote in the US.
As the fastest growing ethnic group, Latinos are projected to make up over a quarter of the population by 2060 and could constitute a moderating force on US foreign policy in Latin America, according to Dr Rubrick Biegon from the University’s School of Politics and International Relations.
His book, US Power in Latin America (Routledge, April 2017), makes extensive use of leaked diplomatic ‘cables’ to examine the interplay between different facets of US leadership in the context of the globalisation of the Latin American economy.
It explains how, in the first decade of the new century, the emergence and consolidation of the ‘New Latin Left’ signalled a profound challenge to the long-standing power of the United States in the region.
US Power in Latin America details the ways in which US foreign policy responded to the threat of ‘radical populism’ in countries like Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador, with the US military shifting its strategy and Washington reinforcing existing multilateral bodies amid the creation of new Latin-America-led institutions.
Citing US officials’ own words from trade negotiations, multilateral diplomacy and military strategy, the book finds that while Latin Americans have exhibited increased confidence in regional and world affairs in the 21st century, the US has responded to stabilise and reinforce its traditional supremacy.
