This book examines U.S.-Latin American relations from an historical, contemporary, and theoretical perspective. Its overriding objectives are to:

1) analyze the issues, stakes, milestone events, trends, and mutual perceptions of the relationship, and

2) use them to illustrate the utility and limitations of some of the central theories, concepts, and analytic frameworks developed to explain international relations and foreign policymaking.

The text provides students a set of analytic tools that will better equip them to understand the complexities of international politics in general, and hemispheric relations in particular. By drawing examples from the distant and more recent pastand interweaving history with theoryWilliams illustrates the enduring principles of International Relations theory and provides students the conceptual tools required to help them organize facts, think systematically about issues, weigh competing explanations, and have confidence in their own conclusions regarding the past, present, and future of international politics in the region.