Is U.S. Regional Hegemony Growing Stronger or Weaker?
If it is to be measured by the Monroe Doctrine standard of hegemony, then U.S. national security strategy in the Western Hemisphere has been largely successful. Except for the small and isolated colonial presence of Europe (mostly in the Caribbean Basin, with the exception of the Falkland Islands), the Western Hemisphere has been the “near abroad” or “backyard” of the United States. But at the same time that the Pentagon and Southcom are redefining the traditional benchmarks of security, Washington is facing weakening of its hegemonic control—both from internal actors and foreign ones. Southcom’s new posture statements and increased attention to South America by Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Rice, and the president himself point to this. Under a section on “Threats” in Southcom’s annual posture statement, Commander Craddock warned Congress that the “increasing presence of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the region is an emerging dynamic that must not be ignored.” According to Cr
