Félix E. Martín - Böcker

Strategic Culture(s) in Latin America elucidates why many state actors in the Global South exhibit a remarkable degree of policy continuity in their external behavior despite structural incentives for change.This book contends that the theoretical notion of strategic culture is instructive to explain such a puzzle. It extends the application of strategic culture beyond the policy of nuclear deterrence among great powers into other equally strategic areas of policy, such as diplomacy, political economy, regional international institutions, legal norms, politico-military institutions, and different security agendas beyond war and peace, for example, the illicit drug trade and peacekeeping missions. The overall contribution of this book is three-fold: first, it rescues, updates, and expands the original conceptual and theoretical dimensions of strategic culture. Second, it extrapolates further theoretical implications of the concept through its application to five policy domains in Latin America beyond the original application of the strategic culture perspective to nuclear weapons strategy among great powers in the 1970s. Third, it draws together the theoretical and policy implications of the strategic cultures in Latin America and identifies possible applications for other peripheral, non-great power policy areas and issues in the Global South.This book will be of interest to academics, graduate and undergraduate students, policy analysts, and practitioners of Latin American Studies, International Relations Theory, and Security Studies.

Strategic Culture(s) in Latin America elucidates why many state actors in the Global South exhibit a remarkable degree of policy continuity in their external behavior despite structural incentives for change.This book contends that the theoretical notion of strategic culture is instructive to explain such a puzzle. It extends the application of strategic culture beyond the policy of nuclear deterrence among great powers into other equally strategic areas of policy, such as diplomacy, political economy, regional international institutions, legal norms, politico-military institutions, and different security agendas beyond war and peace, for example, the illicit drug trade and peacekeeping missions. The overall contribution of this book is three-fold: first, it rescues, updates, and expands the original conceptual and theoretical dimensions of strategic culture. Second, it extrapolates further theoretical implications of the concept through its application to five policy domains in Latin America beyond the original application of the strategic culture perspective to nuclear weapons strategy among great powers in the 1970s. Third, it draws together the theoretical and policy implications of the strategic cultures in Latin America and identifies possible applications for other peripheral, non-great power policy areas and issues in the Global South.This book will be of interest to academics, graduate and undergraduate students, policy analysts, and practitioners of Latin American Studies, International Relations Theory, and Security Studies.

Investments by Spanish firms in Latin America have grown since the early 1990s by taking over many of the state-owned firms put out to tender. Second only to the United States, these investments make Spain one of the largest markets of foreign direct investment for Latin America. This multidisciplinary volume focuses on the emergence of Spanish multinational enterprises in this region. Furthermore, it analyzes the sociological and political consequences of these investments and exhibits several theoretical and methodological approaches that make the book a useful aid for teaching. It is essential reading for those who want to understand structural reforms, their consequences and the international impact of economic reform.