The Inter-American Security System: Changes and Challenges

Beginning in the mid to late 1980’s, democracy took root in most countries in the Western hemisphere. This development in conjunction with the end of the Cold War led to a revival of the OAS and the initiation of new regional security institutions. The strategic framework of the Cold War had consisted in the perception of a threat outside the hemisphere and the monopoly of the U.S. government in defi ning and identifying the enemy. As these structures lost relevance, a new security agenda came to the fore, encompassing both traditional security threats like territorial disputes and nontraditional security threats, such as terrorism and drug-traffi cking. Additionally, security was increasingly defi ned as the establishment of improved civil-military relations and the collective defense of democracy. However, the war against terrorism initiated by the U.S. after September 11, 2001 led to a revitalization of strategic framework of the Cold War. Hence, the paper analyzes how the regional security system in the Americas has changed since the early 1990s. It traces the major innovations with respect to its legal and institutional framework, the impact of the hegemonic position of the United States in the hemisphere and the challenges posed by the emergence of sub-regional organizations.