"Michael Kryzanek has written a wonderful book on U.S.-Latin American relations. Well written, well organized, fair, and balanced, this book surveys the history of hemispheric relations, the major actors involved, and today's hot issues: drugs, immigration, and globalization. It should be the main text in every course on inter-American relations." -- Howard J. Wiarda, Dean Rusk Professor of International Relations and Head, Department of International Affairs, The University of Georgia "This thoroughly updated edition should be welcomed by all who teach Latin American politics or US-Latin American relations. While he has maintained the strengths of previous editions, Kryzanek provides provocative discussions of current issues, especially immigration, globalization, and the so-called Pink Tide. The book provides a great deal of information without burying the reader in extraneous details, thereby making it pedagogically very useful indeed." -- Henry Dietz, Professor, Dept. of Government University of Texas, Austin

Since the third edition was published in 1996, there have been significant developments in this key strategic and economic relationship. Kryzanek builds on the text and themes of previous editions and further examines the ties between the United States and the nations of Latin America. These ties reveal new opportunities, challenges, and tensions. During the second term of President Bill Clinton and now in the Bush presidency, hemispheric relations have been centered on issues of trade, investment, and resource development. The impact of globalization on the region was only beginning to be felt when the third edition of the text went to print, but now it is clear that the rules and demands of a globalized economy have changed the face of Latin America. Numerous areas of public policy that are critical ingredients to the national interests of both the United States and Latin America, such as immigration, drug smuggling, gang violence, leftist revolution, cultural transformations, and regional security continue to test the relationships between the United States and Latin American governments.

Because this text has in the past concentrated on the foreign policy process within the United States government, the proposed new edition will not only update this process but add discussion of new participants in the shaping and implementation of policies toward Latin America. For example, there will be an accent on the growing role of Hispanics within the United States in pressuring for changes in United States policy in a number of areas. Institutionally, there will be new discussion of the role that the Department of Homeland Security plays in United States-Latin American relations, particularly with respect to border and anti-terrorism issues. Key chapters will be reformulated in order to show how the United States makes policy toward Latin America and how the Latin Americans respond to policy initiatives. Presenting how policy is made toward the region is an essential pathway toward understanding how this relationship has evolved and why there have been both successes and failures between the United States and the countries of Latin America.