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Fifteen years after the first Summit of the Americas, the world and the Americas have changed enormously. Competing strategies for economic development and political representation have shattered the hemispheric consensus of the 1990s. This book analyzes these developments and points towards a future for inter-American co-operation.

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Foreword; B.Pastor Introduction - Inter-American Cooperation at a Crossroads; G.Mace, A.F.Cooper & T.M.Shaw PART I: A CHANGING LANDSCAPE Hemispheric Relations: Budding Contests in the Dawn of a New Era; D.Tussie The Obama Administration and Latin America: Towards a New Partnership?; D.Erikson The Caribbean in a Turbulent World; N.Girvan PART II: RESPONDING TO CHALLENGES Economic Integration in the Americas: An Unfinished Agenda; A.Estevadeordal & K.Suominen Building on Sub-Regional Economic Integration Projects to Forge an Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas; T.A.O´Keefe Demise of the Inter-American Democracy Promotion Regime?; T.Legler A More Secure Hemisphere?; R.Diamint Poverty Reduction and the role of Regional Institutions; N.Phillips PART III: THE EFFECTIVENESS OF OTHER INSTITUTIONS The Successes, Failures and Future of the Mercosur; M.Schelhase Ruling the North American Market: NAFTA and its Extensions; L.Bélanger & R.Ouellet New Forms of Integration: The ALBA Institutions and Mechanisms; J.Altmann PART IV: RECONSTRUCTING A REGIONAL SYSTEM FOR THE AMERICAS Middle Powers and Hemispheric Diplomacy: Towards an A-10; J.Heine What Role for the Private Sector in Inter-American Multilateralism?; R.E.Feinberg Conclusion: The Need for Stronger Legitimacy; G.Mace & J.-P.Thérien

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´This is a richly textured collection of original papers by prominent scholars identifying the central ambiguities, successes and failures of efforts to achieve inter-American cooperation. The essays, written to coincide with the Fifth Summit of the Americas, are engaging. The challenges offered to some prevailing paradigms are stimulating, making for excellent analyses of the issues.´ Anthony T. Bryan, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Washington, DC, USA

´Comprehensive, intelligent, and current this work advances both the analysis and the cause of inter-American cooperation because it informs and illuminates the choices that governments and citizens face today.´ Jorge I. Domínguez, Harvard University, USA

´This book highlights the real merits of good edited collections. It addresses an important and timely issue, brings together many of the leading authorities on that issue, organises their thinking in a coherent way, and sets the results of these deliberations before readers in a speedy fashion. Congratulations and thanks to Mace, Cooper and Shaw!´ Tony Payne, University of Sheffield, UK

´This book is priceless to any professor of an international institution as a case-by-case scenario covering the contemporary debates about regionalization in Latin American.´ - Itzel Barrera De Diego, Latin American Policy (2011, 2:2, pp.319-326)

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