As the US prepares for President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House, Southern Pulse is keeping a close watch on how this transition of power will affect Latin American affairs.
While much of the conversation around US-Latin American relations has focused on high-profile topics such as immigration and the future of free trade agreements with Mexico, an oft-overlooked tool in foreign relations is soft power.
Political scientist Joseph Nye coined the term “soft power” in the 1980s, which he has referred to as “the ability to obtain preferred outcomes by attraction rather than coercion or payment.”
The US has developed soft power aimed at Latin America over the decades. High-profile examples include former president Franklin D. Roosevelt sending Walt Disney to the region in the 1940s to curb fascist influences and San Antonio’s 1968 HemisFair seeking to connect the Americas.
Since then, the US has dramatically decreased its engagement in Latin America over the years. However, understanding soft power and its origins remains crucial for ensuring that foreign policy is well-designed and can attain its desired outcomes.
Join Southern Pulse’s Director of Operations Caitlin Klemme and inter-American affairs specialist Adam Ratzlaff for an informal conversation about what soft power is, how it has impacted US-Latin American affairs over the decades and how this strategy will evolve when the incoming Trump administration takes office in January.
In this podcast, Klemme and Ratzlaff discuss:
What soft power is, and how the concept has evolved over the decades
How soft power manifests through cultural influences, such as music, social media and television shows
How scholars monitor soft power based on proxies such as foreign aid, international students and UN votes
Examples of how the US wields soft power in Latin America and beyond through commercial diplomacy programs, sister cities, the Peace Corps and education exchange programs
How military exchanges provide soft power, and the notable influence of the United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) in Latin America today
How the US government’s strategy to develop soft power has dramatically changed since the 1930s, and what it looks like today
Why the US has become disengaged in Latin American politics
What a second Trump presidency may look like in Latin America, and what changing policies such as the proposed Americas Trade and Investment Act could mean for soft power in the region
Additional Reading
Featured research from Ratzlaff and others on soft power:
International Journal of Cultural Policy | Birds of a Feather?: Lessons on U.S. Cultural Diplomacy from Walt Disney during the Good Neighbor Policy
The Geopolitics | Donald Duck Diplomacy
Inkstick Media | Improvising and Harmonizing Inter-American Music Diplomacy
Americas Quarterly | In Latin America, the U.S. Is Relying Too Much on its Military
Pew Research Center | Views of American Soft Power
Foreign Policy | Trump Has His Own Monroe Doctrine
Council on Foreign Relations | What is Soft Power?
Diplomatic Courier | Artists, Activists, and Diplomats
Foreign Policy | Soft Power
The Dialogue | Would the Americas Act Bring Major Economic Benefits?
Inkstick Media | “Team Democracy”: SOUTHCOM’s Diplomatic Dilemma in Latin America
Global Americans | We Don’t Talk About LAC
Diplomatic Courier | The Future of Cultural Diplomacy
Center for Latin American Convergence | The Message Matters: The Domestic Challenge to Biden’s Latin American Foreign Policy
Global Americans | Fostering Hemispheric Solidarity Through Inter-American Education
Southern Pulse has the experience, network, and relationships to simplify Latin America with honest, direct answers to your most complicated questions.
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