The Organization of American States: Restructuring inter-American multilateralism

Global Governance

Volumn 2, Issue 2, 1996, Pages 215-239

  Thérien, Jean Philippe ^b   Fortmann, Michel ^b   Gosselin, Guy ^a  

^a UNIVERSITÉ LAVAL   (Canada)

^b NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0030143961     PISSN: 10752846     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1163/19426720-002-02-90000005     Document Type: Review

References (84)

1. An earlier version of this article was presented at the annual meeting of the Academic Council of the United Nations System (ACUNS), The Hague, 23-24 June 1994. We are grateful to Roger A. Coate, W. Andy Knight, Alain Noël, Benjamin Rivlin, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on previous drafts. We also wish to thank Guillermo Aureano, Mychèle Fortin, Martin Poëti, and Martin Roy for their research assistance in the preparation of this article.
2. "Western Hemisphere Leaders Agree to Form Free Trade Zone by 2005," Washington Post, 11 December 1994, p. 1. See also OAS, A New Vision of the OAS: Working Paper of the General Secretariat for the Permanent Council, (Washington, D.C.: OAS, 1995), p. 33; Howard J. Wiarda, "After Miami: The Summit, the Peso Crisis, and the Future of US-Latin American Relations," Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs 37, no. 1 (spring 1995): 43-68.
3. "Western Hemisphere Leaders Agree to Form Free Trade Zone by 2005," Washington Post, 11 December 1994, p. 1. See also OAS, A New Vision of the OAS: Working Paper of the General Secretariat for the Permanent Council, (Washington, D.C.: OAS, 1995), p. 33; Howard J. Wiarda, "After Miami: The Summit, the Peso Crisis, and the Future of US-Latin American Relations," Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs 37, no. 1 (spring 1995): 43-68.
4. "Western Hemisphere Leaders Agree to Form Free Trade Zone by 2005," Washington Post, 11 December 1994, p. 1. See also OAS, A New Vision of the OAS: Working Paper of the General Secretariat for the Permanent Council, (Washington, D.C.: OAS, 1995), p. 33; Howard J. Wiarda, "After Miami: The Summit, the Peso Crisis, and the Future of US-Latin American Relations," Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs 37, no. 1 (spring 1995): 43-68.
5. Robert S. Leiken, ed., A New Moment in the Americas (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction, 1994).
6. This new optimism is reflected in the vitality of recent scholarly literature on international organizations. See, for example, Roger A. Coate, ed., U.S. Policy and the Future of the United Nations (New York: Twentieth Century Fund Press, 1994); Robert W. Cox, "Multilateralism and World Order," Review of International Studies 18 (1992): 161-180; Craig N. Murphy, International Organization and Industrial Change: Global Governance Since 1850 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994); John Gerard Ruggie, ed., Multilateralism Matters: The Theory and Praxis of an Institutional Form (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993); Friedrich Kratochwil and Edward Mansfield, eds., International Organization: A Reader (New York: HarperCollins College Publishers, 1994); "International Organizations: Theoretical Perspectives and Current Trends," special issue of International Social Science Journal 138 (November 1993). Following a conventional usage, in this article, the notions of "international organization" and "international institution" are used as synonyms. A different approach is suggested in Oran R. Young, "International Regimes: Toward a New Theory of Institutions," World Politics 24, no.1 (October 1986): 108.
7. This new optimism is reflected in the vitality of recent scholarly literature on international organizations. See, for example, Roger A. Coate, ed., U.S. Policy and the Future of the United Nations (New York: Twentieth Century Fund Press, 1994); Robert W. Cox, "Multilateralism and World Order," Review of International Studies 18 (1992): 161-180; Craig N. Murphy, International Organization and Industrial Change: Global Governance Since 1850 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994); John Gerard Ruggie, ed., Multilateralism Matters: The Theory and Praxis of an Institutional Form (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993); Friedrich Kratochwil and Edward Mansfield, eds., International Organization: A Reader (New York: HarperCollins College Publishers, 1994); "International Organizations: Theoretical Perspectives and Current Trends," special issue of International Social Science Journal 138 (November 1993). Following a conventional usage, in this article, the notions of "international organization" and "international institution" are used as synonyms. A different approach is suggested in Oran R. Young, "International Regimes: Toward a New Theory of Institutions," World Politics 24, no.1 (October 1986): 108.
8. This new optimism is reflected in the vitality of recent scholarly literature on international organizations. See, for example, Roger A. Coate, ed., U.S. Policy and the Future of the United Nations (New York: Twentieth Century Fund Press, 1994); Robert W. Cox, "Multilateralism and World Order," Review of International Studies 18 (1992): 161-180; Craig N. Murphy, International Organization and Industrial Change: Global Governance Since 1850 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994); John Gerard Ruggie, ed., Multilateralism Matters: The Theory and Praxis of an Institutional Form (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993); Friedrich Kratochwil and Edward Mansfield, eds., International Organization: A Reader (New York: HarperCollins College Publishers, 1994); "International Organizations: Theoretical Perspectives and Current Trends," special issue of International Social Science Journal 138 (November 1993). Following a conventional usage, in this article, the notions of "international organization" and "international institution" are used as synonyms. A different approach is suggested in Oran R. Young, "International Regimes: Toward a New Theory of Institutions," World Politics 24, no.1 (October 1986): 108.
9. This new optimism is reflected in the vitality of recent scholarly literature on international organizations. See, for example, Roger A. Coate, ed., U.S. Policy and the Future of the United Nations (New York: Twentieth Century Fund Press, 1994); Robert W. Cox, "Multilateralism and World Order," Review of International Studies 18 (1992): 161-180; Craig N. Murphy, International Organization and Industrial Change: Global Governance Since 1850 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994); John Gerard Ruggie, ed., Multilateralism Matters: The Theory and Praxis of an Institutional Form (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993); Friedrich Kratochwil and Edward Mansfield, eds., International Organization: A Reader (New York: HarperCollins College Publishers, 1994); "International Organizations: Theoretical Perspectives and Current Trends," special issue of International Social Science Journal 138 (November 1993). Following a conventional usage, in this article, the notions of "international organization" and "international institution" are used as synonyms. A different approach is suggested in Oran R. Young, "International Regimes: Toward a New Theory of Institutions," World Politics 24, no.1 (October 1986): 108.
10. This new optimism is reflected in the vitality of recent scholarly literature on international organizations. See, for example, Roger A. Coate, ed., U.S. Policy and the Future of the United Nations (New York: Twentieth Century Fund Press, 1994); Robert W. Cox, "Multilateralism and World Order," Review of International Studies 18 (1992): 161-180; Craig N. Murphy, International Organization and Industrial Change: Global Governance Since 1850 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994); John Gerard Ruggie, ed., Multilateralism Matters: The Theory and Praxis of an Institutional Form (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993); Friedrich Kratochwil and Edward Mansfield, eds., International Organization: A Reader (New York: HarperCollins College Publishers, 1994); "International Organizations: Theoretical Perspectives and Current Trends," special issue of International Social Science Journal 138 (November 1993). Following a conventional usage, in this article, the notions of "international organization" and "international institution" are used as synonyms. A different approach is suggested in Oran R. Young, "International Regimes: Toward a New Theory of Institutions," World Politics 24, no.1 (October 1986): 108.
11. This new optimism is reflected in the vitality of recent scholarly literature on international organizations. See, for example, Roger A. Coate, ed., U.S. Policy and the Future of the United Nations (New York: Twentieth Century Fund Press, 1994); Robert W. Cox, "Multilateralism and World Order," Review of International Studies 18 (1992): 161-180; Craig N. Murphy, International Organization and Industrial Change: Global Governance Since 1850 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994); John Gerard Ruggie, ed., Multilateralism Matters: The Theory and Praxis of an Institutional Form (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993); Friedrich Kratochwil and Edward Mansfield, eds., International Organization: A Reader (New York: HarperCollins College Publishers, 1994); "International Organizations: Theoretical Perspectives and Current Trends," special issue of International Social Science Journal 138 (November 1993). Following a conventional usage, in this article, the notions of "international organization" and "international institution" are used as synonyms. A different approach is suggested in Oran R. Young, "International Regimes: Toward a New Theory of Institutions," World Politics 24, no.1 (October 1986): 108.
12. This new optimism is reflected in the vitality of recent scholarly literature on international organizations. See, for example, Roger A. Coate, ed., U.S. Policy and the Future of the United Nations (New York: Twentieth Century Fund Press, 1994); Robert W. Cox, "Multilateralism and World Order," Review of International Studies 18 (1992): 161-180; Craig N. Murphy, International Organization and Industrial Change: Global Governance Since 1850 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994); John Gerard Ruggie, ed., Multilateralism Matters: The Theory and Praxis of an Institutional Form (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993); Friedrich Kratochwil and Edward Mansfield, eds., International Organization: A Reader (New York: HarperCollins College Publishers, 1994); "International Organizations: Theoretical Perspectives and Current Trends," special issue of International Social Science Journal 138 (November 1993). Following a conventional usage, in this article, the notions of "international organization" and "international institution" are used as synonyms. A different approach is suggested in Oran R. Young, "International Regimes: Toward a New Theory of Institutions," World Politics 24, no.1 (October 1986): 108.
13. Mihaly Simai, The Future of Global Governance: Managing Risk and Change in the International System (Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1994), pp. 272, 276. The ambiguous relationship between regionalism and globalism was already noted by Inis L. Claude more than thirty years ago. See Claude, Swords into Plowshares: The Problems and Progress of International Organization, 3d ed. (New York: Random House, 1964), pp. 97-98.
14. Mihaly Simai, The Future of Global Governance: Managing Risk and Change in the International System (Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1994), pp. 272, 276. The ambiguous relationship between regionalism and globalism was already noted by Inis L. Claude more than thirty years ago. See Claude, Swords into Plowshares: The Problems and Progress of International Organization, 3d ed. (New York: Random House, 1964), pp. 97-98.
15. Simai, The Future of Global Governance, p. 275.
16. OAS, Charter of the Organization of American States, Washington, D.C., Treaty Series 1-D, 1989, article 2. As used here, Latin America should be understood as including the Caribbean Basin states.
17. Heraldo Muñoz, "A New OAS for the New Times," in Abraham Lowenthal and Gregory Treverton, eds., Latin America in a New World (Boulder: Westview, 1994), p. 192.
18. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, An Agenda for Peace (New York: United Nations, 1992).
19. Ian Martin, "Haiti: Mangled Multilateralism," Foreign Policy 95 (summer 1994): 72-89.
20. Heraldo Muñoz, "A New OAS for the New Times," in Viron Vaky and Muñoz, The Future of the Organization of American States (New York: Twentieth Century Fund Press, 1993), p. 70.
21. David Forsythe, The Internationalization of Human Rights (Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books, 1991).
22. Ibid., p. 87.
23. Abraham Lowenthal, "Latin America: Ready for Partnership," Foreign Affairs 72, no. 1 (winter 1992/93): 76.
24. José Vivanco, "International Human Rights Litigation in Latin America," in Carl Kaysen, Robert A. Pastor, and Laura W. Reed, eds., Collective Response to Regional Problems: The Case of Latin America and the Caribbean (Cambridge, Mass: CISS-American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1994), p. 80.
25. OAS, Charter of the Organization of American States, preamble.
26. OAS, "Santiago Commitment to Democracy and the Renewal of the Inter-American System," OEA/Ser. P, AG/doc. 2734/91, 21st session, Santiago, 4 June 1991; OAS, "Representative Democracy," OEA/Ser. P, AG/doc. 2739/91 rev. 1, 21st session, Santiago, 6 June 1991.
27. OAS, "Santiago Commitment to Democracy and the Renewal of the Inter-American System," OEA/Ser. P, AG/doc. 2734/91, 21st session, Santiago, 4 June 1991; OAS, "Representative Democracy," OEA/Ser. P, AG/doc. 2739/91 rev. 1, 21st session, Santiago, 6 June 1991.
28. "Declaration of Managua for the Promotion of Democracy and Development," in Vaky and Muñoz, The Future of the Organization of American States, pp. 109-114. See especially the preamble and articles 7 and 9.
29. Forsythe, The Internationalization of Human Rights, p. 105.
30. OECD, Development Cooperation: 1993 Report (Paris: OECD, 1994), pp. 62-66.
31. United Nations, An Agenda for Development: Recommendations, A/49/665, New York, 11 November 1994.
32. According to Norman Bailey and William Perry, the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative "was welcomed in Latin America with a warmth that surprised even its authors." See Bailey and Perry, "The Strategic Impact of Hemispheric Free Trade," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 526 (March 1993): 76.
33. Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Jeffrey J. Schott (assisted by Diana Clark), Western Hemisphere Economic Integration (Washington, D.C.: Institute for International Economics, 1994); Peter Morici, Free Trade in the Americas (New York: Twentieth Century Fund Press, 1994), pp. 23-29.
34. Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Jeffrey J. Schott (assisted by Diana Clark), Western Hemisphere Economic Integration (Washington, D.C.: Institute for International Economics, 1994); Peter Morici, Free Trade in the Americas (New York: Twentieth Century Fund Press, 1994), pp. 23-29.
35. OAS, "Déclaration de Belem do Para," OEA/Ser. P, AG/doc. 3171/94, 24th session, 6 June 1994; OAS, "Déclaration de Montrouis: Une nouvelle vision de l'OEA," OEA/Ser.P, AG/doc. 3236/95 rev. 1, 25th session, 7 June 1995.
36. OAS, "Déclaration de Belem do Para," OEA/Ser. P, AG/doc. 3171/94, 24th session, 6 June 1994; OAS, "Déclaration de Montrouis: Une nouvelle vision de l'OEA," OEA/Ser.P, AG/doc. 3236/95 rev. 1, 25th session, 7 June 1995.
37. OAS, "Création de la commission spéciale sur le commerce," OEA/Ser. P, AG/doc. 2984/93, 23d session, Managua, 7 June 1993.
38. The Inter-American Dialogue, Convergence and Community: The Americas in 1993 (Washington, D.C.: Aspen Institute, 1992), p. 18. This conclusion is also suggested by some of the decisions adopted at the Miami Summit; see OAS, A New Vision of the OAS, p. 33.
39. The Inter-American Dialogue, Convergence and Community: The Americas in 1993 (Washington, D.C.: Aspen Institute, 1992), p. 18. This conclusion is also suggested by some of the decisions adopted at the Miami Summit; see OAS, A New Vision of the OAS, p. 33.
40. Andrew Hurrell, "Regionalism in the Americas," in Lowenthal and Treverton, Latin America in a New World, p. 168.
41. Gert Rosenthal, "Regional Integration in the 1990s," CEPAL Review 50 (August 1993): 17.
42. OAS, Charter of the Organization of American States, article 30.
43. See OAS, Annual Report of the Secretary-General 1993-1994, Washington, D.C., pp. xix, 100.
44. Augusto Varas, "From Coercion to Partnership: A New Paradigm for Security Cooperation in the Western Hemisphere," in Jonathan Hartlyn, Lars Schoultz, and Augusto Varas, eds., The United States and Latin America in the 1990s: Beyond the Cold War (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992), p. 53.
45. Mark Peceny, "The Inter-American System as a Liberal 'Pacific Union?'" Latin American Research Review 29, no. 3 (1994): 190.
46. OAS, Charter of the Organization of American States, preamble.
47. The notion of world-time was defined by Fernand Braudel in Civilisation matérielle, économie et capitalisme, XVe-XVIIIe siècle, vol. 3, Le temps du monde (Paris: Armand Colin, 1979), p. 8. See also Zaki Laïdi, ed., L'ordre mondial relâché: Sens et puissance après la guerre froide, 2d ed. (Paris: Presses de la Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, 1993). George Modelski offers a useful presentation of the concept for an English-speaking audience in Modelski, "French Thoughts on World Time," Mershon International Studies Review 38, no. 2 (October 1994): 247-252.
48. The notion of world-time was defined by Fernand Braudel in Civilisation matérielle, économie et capitalisme, XVe-XVIIIe siècle, vol. 3, Le temps du monde (Paris: Armand Colin, 1979), p. 8. See also Zaki Laïdi, ed., L'ordre mondial relâché: Sens et puissance après la guerre froide, 2d ed. (Paris: Presses de la Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, 1993). George Modelski offers a useful presentation of the concept for an English-speaking audience in Modelski, "French Thoughts on World Time," Mershon International Studies Review 38, no. 2 (October 1994): 247-252.
49. The notion of world-time was defined by Fernand Braudel in Civilisation matérielle, économie et capitalisme, XVe-XVIIIe siècle, vol. 3, Le temps du monde (Paris: Armand Colin, 1979), p. 8. See also Zaki Laïdi, ed., L'ordre mondial relâché: Sens et puissance après la guerre froide, 2d ed. (Paris: Presses de la Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, 1993). George Modelski offers a useful presentation of the concept for an English-speaking audience in Modelski, "French Thoughts on World Time," Mershon International Studies Review 38, no. 2 (October 1994): 247-252.
50. This notion is borrowed from Sidney Tarrow, Power in Movement: Social Movements, Collective Action and Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 17-18.
51. Viron Vaky, "The Organization of American States and Multilateralism in the Americas," in Vaky and Muñoz, The Future of the Organization of American States, p. 43.
52. Georges Couffignal, "Le système interaméricain après la guerre froide," in Laïdi, L'ordre mondial relâché, p. 209.
53. Vaky, "The Organization of American States," p. 3.
54. O. Carlos Stoetzer, The Organization of American States, 2d ed. (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1993), p. 302.
55. David G. Bradford, "The Southern Theatre: US Interests Still Matter There," Strategic Review 22, no. 1 (winter 1994): 43.
56. Hurrell, "Regionalism in the Americas," p. 185.
57. Muñoz, "A New OAS for the New Times," p. 94.
58. S. Neil McFarlane and Thomas G. Weiss, "Regional Organizations and Regional Security," Security Studies 2, no. 1 (autumn 1992): 24.
59. Ibid., pp. 6-37; S. Neil McFarlane and Thomas G. Weiss, "The United Nations, Regional Organizations, and Human Security: Building Theory in Central America," in ACUNS, Regional Responsibilities and the United Nations System, (Providence: ACUNS Reports and Papers 2, 1994), pp. 15-47; Paul F. Diehl "Institutional Alternatives to Traditional U.N. Peacekeeping: An Assessment of Regional and Multinational Options," Armed Forces and Society 19, no. 2 (winter 1993): 210-219.
60. Ibid., pp. 6-37; S. Neil McFarlane and Thomas G. Weiss, "The United Nations, Regional Organizations, and Human Security: Building Theory in Central America," in ACUNS, Regional Responsibilities and the United Nations System, (Providence: ACUNS Reports and Papers 2, 1994), pp. 15-47; Paul F. Diehl "Institutional Alternatives to Traditional U.N. Peacekeeping: An Assessment of Regional and Multinational Options," Armed Forces and Society 19, no. 2 (winter 1993): 210-219.
61. Ibid., pp. 6-37; S. Neil McFarlane and Thomas G. Weiss, "The United Nations, Regional Organizations, and Human Security: Building Theory in Central America," in ACUNS, Regional Responsibilities and the United Nations System, (Providence: ACUNS Reports and Papers 2, 1994), pp. 15-47; Paul F. Diehl "Institutional Alternatives to Traditional U.N. Peacekeeping: An Assessment of Regional and Multinational Options," Armed Forces and Society 19, no. 2 (winter 1993): 210-219.
62. See Saadia Touval, "Why the U.N. Fails?" Foreign Affairs 73, no. 5 (September-October 1994): 44-57.
63. "The Vote But Not Always Much More," The Economist (16 October 1993): 48.
64. OAS, Draft Workplan for the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy, OEA/Ser. G, CP/CG-1326/93 rev. 1, 2 February 1994.
65. Francisco Villagran de Leon, The OAS and Democratic Development, (Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace, 1992), p. 1.
66. This viewpoint is mostly associated with the Latin American left. See Ruy Mauro Marini, "Latin America at the Crossroads," Latin American Perspectives 21 no. 1 (winter 1994): 111-112.
67. Albert Fishlow and Stephan Haggard, The United States and the Regionalization of the World Economy (Paris: OECD, 1992), pp. 26-27.
68. Statement made by the U.S. government at the signing of the "Protocol of Cartagena de Indias," in OAS, Charter of the Organization of American States, p. 42.
69. See OAS, "Commitment on a Partnership for Development and Struggle to Overcome Extreme Poverty," OEA/Ser. P, AG/doc. 16 (XX-E/94), 20th special session, Mexico, 18 February 1994.
70. Vaky, "The Organization of American States," p. 33.
71. Heraldo Muñoz, "The Environment and Inter-American Relations," in Muñoz, ed., Environment and Diplomacy in the Americas (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1992), pp. 6-8.
72. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Open Regionalism in Latin America and the Caribbean: Economic Integration as a Contribution to Changing Production Patterns with Social Equity (Santiago: ECLAC, 1994), p. 23.
73. Heraldo Muñoz, "The Rise and Decline of the Inter-American System: A Latin American View," in Richard Bloomfield and Gregory Treverton, eds., Alternative to Intervention: A New U.S.-Latin American Security Relationship (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1990), p. 28.
74. Stoetzer, The Organization of American States, p. 2; see also Harold Molineu, "The Inter-American System: Searching for a New Framework," Latin American Research Review 29 no. 1 (1994): 216.
75. Stoetzer, The Organization of American States, p. 2; see also Harold Molineu, "The Inter-American System: Searching for a New Framework," Latin American Research Review 29 no. 1 (1994): 216.
76. Robert Axelrod, The Evolution of Cooperation (New York: Basic Books, 1984).
77. Varas, "From Coercion to Partnership," p. 48.
78. See Francisco Rojas Aravena, "El Cono Sur Latinoamericano y la Iniciativa para las Américas," Estudios Internationales 101 (January-March 1993): 108, 120; Andrew Hurrell, "Latin America in the New World Order: A Regional Bloc of the Americas," International Affairs 68, no. 1 (1992): 127-128.
79. See Francisco Rojas Aravena, "El Cono Sur Latinoamericano y la Iniciativa para las Américas," Estudios Internationales 101 (January-March 1993): 108, 120; Andrew Hurrell, "Latin America in the New World Order: A Regional Bloc of the Americas," International Affairs 68, no. 1 (1992): 127-128.
80. Francisco Orrego Vicuña, "South American-US Relations: Regional Limits and Global Understandings," Adelphi Papers 256 (winter 1990-1991): 86.
81. Antonio Caballero, "L'OEA, un 'machin' inutile," Courrier International 184 (11-18 May 1994): 21.
82. Peter H. Smith, "The Politics of Integration: Guidelines for Policy," in Smith, ed., The Challenge of Integration: Europe and the Americas (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction, 1993), p. 409.
83. Celso Lafer, "Brazil in a New World," in Lowenthal and Treverton, Latin America in a New World, p. 232.
84. Murphy, International Organization and Industrial Change, p. 33.