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Begin New Search Political Geography South America

281. Beyond Borders

Author:
David A. Andelman
Publication Date:
03-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
Civilization marks its beginnings to the moment, more than 14,000 years ago, humans first gathered into settlements, leaving behind their days as nomadic hunters and gatherers. Known as sedentarization, this phenomenon likely debuted in the Fertile Crescent of the Levant, followed by the Yangtze and Yellow River basins two millennia later, and eventually in Mexico, South America, and finally the eastern shores of the United States. At each point sprang up villages, cities, and eventually, nations. Over thousands of years, fixed boundaries were codified and defended, often at great cost. Many borders have been drawn wisely, following natural formations like barriers of mountains or rivers. Many follow linguistic, ethnic, religious, or tribal boundaries. But others have been haphazardly imposed by outsiders with the stroke of a pen on some distant map. As empires fell and the speed of global trade and migration increased, boundaries became complex barriers to the free movement of people and ideas. Today, some provoke violent wars and revolutions, while others can be breached by brave individuals and new technologies—issues that World Policy Journal explores in our spring cover theme.
Topic:
Demographics, Development, Nationalism, International Affairs, Border Control, and Urbanization
Political Geography:
United States, South America, and Mexico

282. Drivers of Strategic Contestation in South America

Author:
Daniel Flemes and Leslie Wehner
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
The politics of contestation on the part of secondary regional powers such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela towards Brazil as the regional leader oscillate between competition and cooperation, inasmuch as the South American region has one regional power and is a zone of negative peace without aggressive rivalries. The secondary powers use different tactics, which constitute their respective foreign policy strategies, to soft balance Brazil. These tactics include alliance building, entangling diplomacy, binding, and omni‐enmeshment. This paper identifies, first, the specific drivers of contestation towards Brazil and, second, why the secondary powers' foreign policy strategies vary in how they directly or indirectly contest the rise of Brazil at the regional and international levels. The paper demonstrates that in a regional order such as that of South America, which is characterized by relative stability, domestic drivers of contestation are key to explaining secondary powers' varied strategic responses to the regional power.
Topic:
Development, Emerging Markets, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Regional Cooperation, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
Japan and South America

283. The Obama Administration's New Partnership with the Americas

Author:
Roberta S. Jacobson
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
Over the past several years, the United States has entered a period of sustained progress in our relations with the Americas. The new assertiveness of regional players like Brazil and Mexico, the deepening pace of integration in the Caribbean and Central and South America, and the increasing ties between Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region are all contributing to a dynamic environment that is filled with opportunities for our country. Notwithstanding the institutional and governance challenges that persist in some parts of the region, today many Latin American and Caribbean countries are more confident, capable, and open to partnership with the United States than at any other point in recent memory. This is a positive development for our broader national interests and for the Western Hemisphere as a whole. Our task is to engage our neighbors as equal partners, meeting the common challenge of creating a future in which our societies can thrive together, against the backdrop of the Americas' expanding strategic importance for the United States.
Political Geography:
United States, South America, Latin America, Caribbean, Mexico, and Asia-Pacific

284. "Today There Are No Indigenous People" in Chile?: Connecting the Mapuche Struggle to Anti-Neoliberal Mobilizations in South America

Author:
Kevin Funk
Publication Date:
11-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
The books under review all deal with the same fundamental phenomenon: mobilization against neoliberal policies by South American indigenous groups. These works fall into two groups: those that focus on the Mapuche struggle in Chile, and those that consider anti-neoliberal indigenous mobilization in the region more broadly. Just as literature in the former group fails to draw any linkages between the Mapuche and other South American indigenous struggles, the latter body of literature does not engage with Chile as a case worthy of consideration. This essay delineates the arguments made by scholars from both groups and argues that they must be brought into dialogue with one another in order to develop both a more holistic conceptualization of the Mapuche struggle in Chile and a more complete understanding of indigenous mobilization in the region. Further empirical work is needed on how Mapuche mobilization relates to other indigenous, anti-neoliberal mobilizations in South America.
Political Geography:
South America and Chile

285. The Locavore's Dilemma: In Praise of the 10,000-mile Diet

Author:
Andrew Brannan
Publication Date:
12-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Objective Standard
Institution:
The Objective Standard
Abstract:
Observe the enormous bounty of food at your local grocery store. Note the fresh fruit and vegetables from around the world—bananas and coconuts are imported from Caribbean islands; strawberries, melons, and peppers travel from California or Florida to stores across the land; blueberries and mangos come from Central and South America; and so on.
Political Geography:
California, South America, Central America, Caribbean, and Florida

286. Fighting a Pandemic: The World's Effort to Control Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis

Author:
Alex Bozzette
Publication Date:
12-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:
"Sitienes el dinero, puedas hacer maravillas." If you have the money, you can do wonders. Those were some of the first words Dr. Clara Friele, coordinator of Ecuador's National Tuberculosis (TB) Control Program, said to me last summer. The disease she and so many others are fighting is fully curable. It has been documented for millennia-recorded in the bones of Egyptian mummies, the pages of the Hindu Vedas, and the scenes of countless films, plays, and operas (from Tombstone to La Traviata).TB claimed 1.4 million lives in 2010 and is the leading killer of people with AIDS. It infects the lungs before spreading throughout the body and, if untreated, kills almost two-thirds of those with the severe active disease. Supported by a generous travel-study grant, I spent June through August 2011 in South America, East Africa, and Southeast Asia learning from those who fight this TB pandemic firsthand.
Political Geography:
Africa, South America, Egypt, and Southeast Asia

287. Amérique latine. Political Outlook 2012

Author:
Mélanie Albaret, Hélène Combes, Olivier Compagnon, Olivier Dabène, Lorenza Belinda Fontana, Marie-Laure Geoffray, Charles-André Goulet, Nordin Lazreg, Kevin Parthenay, Gustavo Pastor, Thomas Posado, Darío Rodriguez, Camila Minerva Rodriguez Tavárez, and Jérôme Sgard
Publication Date:
12-2012
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
Abstract:
Le Political Outlook 2012 de l’Amérique latine est une publication de l’Observatoire politique de l’Amérique latine et des Caraïbes (Opalc) du CERI-Sciences Po. Il prolonge la démarche du site internet www.sciencespo.fr/opalc en offrant des clefs de compréhension d’un continent en proie à des transformations profondes. Des informations complémentaires à cette publication sont disponibles sur le site.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Democratization, Markets, Political Economy, Politics, History, Finance, Regional Integration, and Memory
Political Geography:
South America, Cuba, Latin America, Bolivia, and El Salvador

288. Can Latin American Oil Companies Free Themselves from the Legacy of Nationalization? (Les compagnies pétrolières latino-américaines peuvent-elles s'affranchir de l'héritage de la nationalisation ?)

Author:
Isabelle Rousseau
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
Abstract:
Latin America's national oil companies, created at various times during the twentieth century, have each evolved in a different way. The two main companies – Petroleos de Mexico (Pemex) and Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) – provide excellent illustrations of the rich diversity of organizational and industrial development. Many factors – such as the importance of earth quakes – explain the diversity. Nevertheless, the role of governments during the period of nationalizations is key. It was then that the relationships between the owners of natural resources, public operators, regulators, the finance ministries, and international operators were defined. This process shaped the companies' institutional structures (path dependency) and set the parameters for future entrepreneurial dynamism. The path by which each of these enterprises developed continues to affect their culture as evidenced by the recent reforms which attempted to restructure Pemex and PDVSA.
Topic:
Energy Policy, Oil, Political Economy, and Multinational Corporations
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, Venezuela, and Mexico

289. Understanding the Links Between Sexual and Reproductive Health Status and Poverty Reduction

Author:
Nata Duvvury and Philip Oxhorn
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
The interrelationship between poverty and sexual and reproductive health status (SRHS) is widely noted in academic, policy and programmatic discourses, though none establishes causality. The primary emphasis in these discourses is that poor SRHS is an outcome of poverty, and thus can be addressed through poverty reduction programmes. The purpose of this brief is to understand what factors contribute to the interrelationship between SRHS and poverty, with a specific focus on understanding how SRHS impacts household poverty. Future studies may then focus specifically on these factors in order to address issues of causality. This brief is based on desk research involving two sources of data: 1) a review of global literature and 2) three country case studies. The global literature review examined literature documenting the nature, extent and strength of the interrelationship between poverty and SRHS. The literature search was conducted using keywords from different disciplinary perspectives demography, economics, development, women’s studies, sociology, human rights and public health. Key databases such as JSTOR, PubMed, MEDLINE and Elsevier Science Direct were consulted, as well as the specific library databases at National University of Ireland, Galway and McGill University. Researchers at McGill compiled an annotated bibliography of literature on India. The three country case studies were undertaken in Brazil, Ghana and Lebanon. Consultants in each country undertook an extensive search of academic, policy and programmatic literature including journal publications, research reports, policy briefs, and non-governmental organization (NGO) reports. The literature search in each country followed the same method as the global literature review, including identifying keywords from different disciplines and exploring different databases. In addition, the consultants searched grey literature through contacting various NGOs and research institutions. They also obtained statistical information from governmental and institutional databases. All country case studies explored three key questions: 1) Is there literature that demonstrates the impact of poor SRHS on poverty? 2) What factors have been highlighted in the literature as influencing the relationship between SRHS and poverty? 3) Are there trade-offs involved for women between education, fertility, status and work participation? and 4) Do programmes by civil society organizations, such as micro-credit or income-generating programmes, promote sexual and reproductive health?
Topic:
Development, Education, Poverty, Health Care Policy, and Reproductive Health
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, Brazil, South America, Lebanon, and Ghana

290. Case Study from Brazil Gender Equality, Sexual and Reproductive Health, and Poverty Reduction: Understanding the Links with Economic Growth and Improvements in Household Income

Author:
Rosana Heringer
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
The general understanding about the status of women in Brazil show a reality of many advancements in many aspects, however not always followed by equivalent outcomes in terms of the status of women in private space. This means that women in Brazil have experimented increased education levels and increased presence in the labor market. However, Brazilian women are still subjected to prejudice and discrimination when it comes to their role in domestic space, playing a subordinate role in relation to husbands and other male roles in the family. This also has implications for the status of women in relation to sexual and reproductive health and rights and in terms of the participation of women in public sphere, including labor market and political participation. The status of women in the household, when subject to disrespect and lack of autonomy, leading to situations of economic dependence, unwanted pregnancy or domestic violence, to name a few, jeopardize the possibility of women developing themselves as independent citizens and with autonomy to participate in economic life. Although having recently elected the first woman president in the country, Brazil has also a low record when it comes to the political participation of women. The number of women as elected officials in the country is among the smallest in the world, and has been growing slowly along the last decade. It is also important to say that the status of women in Brazil is highly marked by the differences among women themselves in aspects such as class and race or ethnic background. Black and indigenous women in Brazil face the biggest burdens in terms of access to rights, with implications to their well being and to their status in society. It is also acknowledged that class differences, representing the inequalities in terms of education, occupation and income have great influence in the situation of women.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Poverty, Income Inequality, Economic growth, and Reproductive Health
Political Geography:
Brazil and South America