The Foreign Service Journal, December 2007

appeared in the Foreign Service Journal, New York Times, San Fran- cisco Chronicle, The Hill and the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch , among other publications. Unrealistic Expectations U.S. Relations with Latin America during the Clinton Years: Opportunities Lost or Opportunities Squandered? David Scott Palmer, University of Florida Press, 2006, $24.95, paper- back, 144 pages. R EVIEWED BY D ENNIS J ETT David Scott Palmer describes this slender volume as the first full-length overview of the Clinton administra- tion’s policy toward Latin America. The book, like the policy it describes, is rather superficial, but is still well worth reading. Palmer, a professor of international relations at Boston University, is a recognized authority on Latin America who brings great experience to the topic. He has no ideological axes to grind, but his dis- appointment with the policy appears to reflect some unrealistic expecta- tions. In the interests of full disclosure, it should be noted that I was inter- viewed twice by the author and get mentioned in the book because of my service as ambassador to Peru from 1996 to 1999. Whether the insights my involvement provides make up for any lack of detachment or objectivity I leave to readers to judge. Palmer’s basic thesis is that the end of the Cold War presented an oppor- tunity for the Clinton administration to significantly improve relations with Latin America, but it failed to take advantage of the opening. As a result, he describes those relations as “large- ly adrift and the opportunities once present closed” by the time Clinton left office. The author acknowledges several accomplishments, including the ratifi- cation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the institution of the Summit of the Americas process, the handling of the Mexican peso cri- sis and the achievement of peace between Peru and Ecuador. But he deems Clinton’s failures more signifi- cant: the lack of additional free trade agreements, instability in Haiti, the erosion of democracy in Colombia and Peru, the stalement in relations with Cuba and a general worsening of environmental quality throughout the hemisphere. Palmer’s disappointment with the Clinton administration’s lack of sus- tained attention to the region is understandable. Indeed, area spe- cialists for just about every region but the Middle East and Europe might have similar complaints. But howev- er justified, Palmer’s disappointment leads him to some unreasonable con- clusions. The yardstick he uses to judge the administration’s performance is the action agenda set at the 1994 Sum- mit of the Americas: strengthening democracy, promoting trade and eco- nomic integration, eradicating pover- ty and discrimination, guaranteeing sustainable development and con- serving the environment. (The heads of state apparently forgot to include a cure for cancer and world peace.) While Palmer is right to point out that there was little serious follow-up and few resources were dedicated to achieving these lofty goals, 33 coun- tries signed on to them. So the fail- ure hardly belongs to the United States alone. The end of the Cold War did end the argument that right-wing dictators should be supported simply because they opposed communism. While that shift may have created an oppor- tunity for a new policy that Clinton largely ignored, it did not change any- thing in Latin America, which still suf- fered from ineffective institutions and other ills. On Peru, the author criticizes the U.S. for putting drug interdiction ahead of democracy promotion. He asserts that I lacked access to Peru- vian President Alberto Fujimori, but spoke out against antidemocratic measures — whereas my successor had access to him, but did not speak out. Palmer seems to equate access to influence, yet when Fujimori finally falls, he attributes it to the actions of Peruvians, not outside actors. It is unclear what he thinks the U.S. could have done in the face of the Peruvian president’s determination to stay in power, short of invading the country. In the end, Peruvians made the right choice and Fujimori is in jail instead of the presidential mansion. Palmer usefully points out that attention given to any region must compete with everything else hap- pening in the world and a lot of dom- estic politics, as well. Even with concerted attention fromWashington, however, American policy, whether conveyed through public statements or quiet diplomacy, can only do so much. Dennis Jett, an FSO from 1972 to 2000, was ambassador to Mozam- bique and Peru and DCM in Malawi and Liberia. Dean of the Inter- national Center at the University of Florida, he is the author of Why Peacekeeping Fails (Palgrave, 2001) and Why American Foreign Policy Fails , which will be published in May 2008. D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 7 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 65 B O O K S