The Summits of the Americas: Continuities and Changes in the Hemispheric Agenda of William Clinton and George W. Bush

Abstract

This chapter examines the foreign policy of the United States during the governments of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, aimed at establishing continuities and changes, regarding both the global strategy of the country and in relation to Latin America and the Caribbean. Concerning the latter, the analysis refers to presidential/summits diplomacy, considered by the last two administrations as a privileged place when constructing a new architecture of hemispherical relationships. We refer to the period of the summit meetings in Miami, Santiago, Quebec, and Mar del Plata, between 1994 and 2005, as well as the extraordinary summit in Monterrey in 2004.