Decline Of The U. S. Hegemony?: A Challenge of ALBA and a New Latin American Integration of the Twenty-First Century (Security in the Americas in the Twenty-First Century) - Hardcover

The book edited by M.Defort and B.Bagley is the first comprehensive integral analysis of ALBA and its results are exhaustive and excellent. The editors have assembled an impressive array of international scholars to examine thoroughly ALBA's national and geopolitical dimensions. This regional alliance is seen within the context of regional and global challenges. The authors managed splendidly to trace historical and ideological roots of ALBA and to present a whole picture of its successes and failures. It is a well written, well-organized and highly detailed vision of different aspects of ALBA's history and contemporaneity, and it would be an invaluable source for readers interested in international relations, the development of the New Left in Latin America and integration issues. -- Victor Jeifets

This book analyzes ALBA s structure and dynamics, its practicality, its medium and long-term sustainability, and its capacity to influence regional and international affairs. The work examines ALBA s possible economic and security consequences for neighboring non-member states in the region, particularly the United States, as well as other key actors such as China, Russia, and Iran. The volume analyzes the origins, ideological orientation, structure, internal dynamics, and evolution of the ALBA initiative and its regional and international implications during its first decade of existence. It is the first comprehensive work on the subject with a multi-disciplinary perspective and it provides an analysis of the new regional, Bolivarian Alliance initiative in Latin America and its relation to the international system. The volume includes studies on the Bolivarian Alliance and Chavismo under Hugo Chavez Frias leadership. As a whole, this volume weaves together such crucial issues as oil politics, drug-trafficking, hemispheric security, and trade."