The Monroe Doctrine in a Contemporary Perspective

Description

This book surveys the impact of the Monroe Doctrine on United States relations with Latin America, with a particular focus on the Caribbean Basin, since its proclamation in 1823. It explores the historical role of the Monroe Doctrine as the instrument to foreclose future European colonial adventures in the American hemisphere and to exclude from it any political system(s) deemed to be incompatible with the American political tradition. Modeste examines the elastic interpretations of the Monroe Doctrine to justify American territorial expansion and imperial ambitions, premised on a strategic question – the power controlling the Latin American/Caribbean trade routes and Sea Lines of Communication. Fundamental to the narrative is the linkage of the tenets of the Monroe Doctrine to contemporary local/regional crises where governments have applied extraordinary, extra-constitutional measures to exercise control or achieve political ends, mechanisms of peaceful conflict resolution failures, and subversive elements that use unorthodox methods to threaten the integrity of the state. Modeste also traces the transformation of the Monroe Doctrine from a unilateral policy declaration to a multilateral compact for the collective defence of the hemisphere. Cover Half Title Series Title Copyright Dedication Contents List of Maps Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1 Europe and the Americas: The Old World and the New Mission 2 The Original Monroe Doctrine 3 Expansion of the Monroe Doctrine 4 The Monroe Doctrine and the Containment of Communism 5 The Grenada Revolution in the Cold War Context 6 Haiti: Taming the Revolutionary Spirit 7 Longevity of the Monroe Doctrine Appendix I TREATY Between Austria, Prussia, and Russia (the “Holy Alliance”), Signed at Paris, 26th September 1815 Appendix II The Annual Message from President James Monroe to the United States Congress, Containing the “Monroe Doctrine,” December 2nd, 1823 (Extract) Appendix III Letter of Invitation to the OECS from the Governor-General of Grenada Sir Paul Scoon October 24th, 1983 Appendix IV Statement on the Grenada Situation from the OECS Secretariat Appendix V Letter from the Chairman of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States to the United States Ambassador to the Eastern Caribbean Appendix VI Letter Requesting U.S. Action Appendix VII Letter from President Reagan to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House Informing the Congress of the Grenada Mission October 25th, 1983 Bibliography Index