Suchergebnisse

The new international scene had been shaping up for some time; it was marked by two great surprising and traumatic events: the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the fall of the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, 2001. Now, a new international order has clearly emerged after the United States' military triumph over Saddam Hussein's regime. It is the consecration of a unipolar world, dominated by North American power. The United States seeks to build an international order where there are no vital threats to its security and its leadership is imposed to put its interests and values first. What is important is that the United States has both the ability and the political will to exercise its hard power and leadership. ; El nuevo escenario internacional se venía perfilando desde hace un tiempo y quedó marcado por dos grandes acontecimientos sorprendentes y traumáticos: la caída del Muro de Berlín en 1989 y la caída de las Torres Gemelas de Nueva York, el 11 de septiembre de 2001. Ahora, un nuevo orden internacional ha emergido de manera clara tras el triunfo militar de Estados Unidos sobre el régimen de Sadam Hussein. Es la consagración de un mundo unipolar, dominado por el poderío norteamericano. Estados Unidos busca construir un orden internacional donde no existan amenazas vitales a su seguridad y se imponga su liderazgo para hacer primar sus intereses y valores. Lo importante es que Estados Unidos tiene tanto la capacidad como la voluntad política de ejercer su poder duro y su liderazgo.

In his insightful book On the Law of Nations, Daniel Patrick Moynihan states that international law "is not higher law or better law; it is existing law. It is not a law that eschews force; such a view is alien to the very idea of law. Often as not it is the law of the victor; but it is law withal and does evolve" (Moynihan 1990, 19).

Argues that democracy can and must be defended through collective, peaceful means; focuses on Organization of American States' efforts to promote and defend democracy; 1980s and 1990s, chiefly, with historical references.

In the inter-American system, there has historically been a tendency to understand democracy as a legal obligation. Considering that the "right to democracy" has become a normative imperative and is being implemented through peaceful collective action, in this paper it is proposed that the Organization of American States has to fulfill the role of seeking a convergence between doctrine and concrete action. First, it explains how the doctrine and practice of democracy have evolved in the inter-American system, pointing out the main milestones in this regard. Then, reference is made to some recent initiatives of the organization with respect to democracy, the cases of Haiti, Peru and Guatemala, as well as the supervision of elections in several countries and the revision of the traditional concept of sovereignty. ; En el sistema interamericano ha existido históricamente la tendencia a entender la democracia como una obligación jurídica. Considerando que el "derecho a la democracia" se ha transformado en un imperativo normativo y se está implementando mediante la acción colectiva pacifica, en el presente trabajo se plantea que la Organización de Estados Americanos tiene que cumplir el rol de buscar una convergencia entre doctrina y acción concreta. Primeramente, se explica cómo ha evolucionado la doctrina y la práctica de la democracia en el sistema interamericano, señalando los principales hitos en este sentido. Luego, se hace referencia a algunas iniciativas recientes de la organización con respecto a la democracia los casos de Haití, Perú y Guatemala, así como la supervisión de elecciones en varios países y la revisión del concepto tradicional de soberanía.

The relationship between trade and the environment has been the subject of lively debate in the Americas and elsewhere. This article analyzes the principal issues involved in the current discussion. Rather than attempting to draw definitive conclusions, the major points ofdebate are highlighted. The chief conclusion is that trade and environmental protection can and should be mutually supportive as part of a strategy of sustainable development.