US Interventionism in the Americas: Carter, Clinton, Obama

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Abstract

This roundtable assesses the impact of liberal US presidents on the Americas, Presidents Carter, Clinton, and Obama. Liberal Democratic administrations have positioned themselves as offering a set of policies respectful of self-determination, human rights, economic progress, and the rule of law. Yet the reality of US policy under these leaders has been far more equivocal. Although they have at times provided economic support to left-leaning governments and avoided launching the wars that occurred in other eras, there is another side to their actions that contradicts this non-interventionist image. They have supported neoliberal economic policies such as NAFTA and CAFTA that have increased economic inequality and worsened the effects of poverty throughout the region. Even more troubling, they have supported the creation of death squads, backed coup d’etats and other violent forms of intervention. This panel seeks to evaluate this complicated legacy.

The scholars in this roundtable are all experts in the history, culture, and politics of the region. Drawing on a range of original research and multi-disciplinary perspectives, their work offers critical and rigorous analyses of the problems of liberalism in the Americas.

Sub Track

• International Relations

Session Organizer

• Miguel R Tinker Salas, Pomona College

Chair

• Victor Silverman, Pomona College

Presenters

• Victor Silverman, Pomona College

• Suyapa G Portillo Villeda, Pitzer College

• T M Scruggs, TheRealNews.com

• Martha M Arguello, University of California/Irvine

• Edgar I Gutierrez