From Pirates to Drug Lords ― The Post-Cold War Caribbean Security Environment

This book examines the crucial and timeless impact Caribbean countries have on the United States and the world, and the methods they have been employing to consolidate their democracies, advance prosperity, and maintain the peace through international cooperation among themselves. Its primary aim is to discuss the dominant threat perceptions and security priorities of regional governments, the varied mechanisms in place to promote regional collective action, and the future agenda of U.S. foreign policy toward the Caribbean. Rooted in an historical analysis of continuity and change in the Caribbean's international subsystem, the book analyzes the Caribbean within a broader international pattern, marking a tension in world affairs between the global and the local. In addition, it explores the challenges to governments and peoples in the region posed by changes in its political economy.

Michael C. Desch is Assistant Director and Senior Research Associate at The John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University.

Jorge I. Dominguez is Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs and Director of the Center for International Affairs at Harvard University.

Andres Serbin is Professor and Director of INVESP in Caracas, Venezuela.