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Durante el gobierno de Vicente Fox, México enfrentó crisis diplomáticas con Cuba, Argentina y Venezuela. Las causas se encuentran en el cambio de orientación de la política exterior, que implicó una mayor cercanía con Estados Unidos, pero también en el proceso de toma de decisiones: el gobierno mexicano concentró el manejo de la crisis en unos pocos funcionarios y formuló declaraciones imprudentes. Al final de la presidencia de Fox, la disputa con Argentina parece resuelta y la tensión con Cuba ha disminuido. Sin embargo, Venezuela se retiró del acuerdo del G-3 y la relación entre este país y México se encuentra en su punto más bajo. (Nueva Soc/GIGA)

"Only some 15 years ago it was unusual for policy makers to talk of development and security policies in the same breath. Today the reverse is true: national policy makers talk of the 3-Ds (Diplomacy, Development, and Defense), the 4-Ds (including Democratization), and 'joined-up government approaches' as if they are inseparable. Similarly, the United Nations, the European Union and the African Union, among others, all profess the necessity for integrated security and development policies. Yet, behind the current security-development nexus proposition, there are multiple layers of confusion, contradictions and policy dilemmas. Based on ongoing research undertaken by the Security-Development Nexus Program at the International Peace Academy (IPA), this paper seeks to bring greater clarity to current debates on the linkages between security and development policies in an increasingly interdependent but fractured global system. The paper starts by identifying the multiple levels at which the policy debate takes place: local, national, regional and global. It argues that moving indiscriminately between these levels has created tremendous conceptual as well as policy confusion. Similarly, because both development and security are extremely broad and elusive concepts, the call for integrating them often leads to a policy enigma: What should be integrated with what? Furthermore, it is readily assumed that the security-development linkage applies equally to various conflict contexts and to different conflict phases - albeit in somewhat different configurations. Finally, there is a tendency to make policy recommendations as if the policy community were an apolitical monolith - rather than the diverse mix of national, regional, governmental and non-governmental actors with their own interests and agenda. Recent research examining the linkages between distinct issue areas such as poverty, demography, globalization, human rights and environment has begun to provide important clues about how these factors combine to exacerbate or reduce risks of violent conflicts as well as political and criminal violence. Similarly, comparative country-level research demonstrates the specificity of each conflict context while assessing the appropriateness of current approaches to linking security and development in essentially distinct policy and political environments. It is anticipated that these research results will contribute to a new generation of policies and programs that go beyond the rhetorical call for integrating security and development policies." (author's abstract)

Das Selbstverständnis Amerikas und auch das Amerikabild seiner traditionellen Verbündeten in Europa sind durch die aktuellen geostrategischen Veränderungen einem nachhaltigen Wandel unterworfen. Die Terroranschläge vom 11. September 2001 führten Amerika ein desillusionierendes Bild über das eigene Ansehen und Prestige in der Welt vor Augen und haben dazu geführt, "Public Diplomacy" im Sinne einer staatlichen Öffentlichkeitsarbeit wieder als unverzichtbares Instrument für die Gestaltung internationaler Beziehungen zu begreifen. Das dahinter stehende Konzept wird als eine der tragenden Säulen einer neuen Sicherheitspolitik verstanden, wie im vorliegenden Beitrag näher gezeigt wird. Die Ausführungen des Autors beziehen sich u.a. auf den Stellenwert der "Public Diplomacy" in der Geschichte der USA vor und nach dem 11. September, ihre Funktion bei der öffentlichen Meinungsbildung und in der amerikanischen Medienlandschaft sowie auf das Deutschlandbild der Amerikaner und die deutsche "Public Diplomacy" in den USA. (ICI)