Category: Central America

From transactional to territorial: The evolution of Mexican drug cartels and the challenge to state sovereignty

Modern Mexican cartels like The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) elicit characteristics that have a functional resemblance to a state: such as exerting territorial control, a monopoly on violence, enforcement of the law, systematic taxation and the provision of social services to their populations. The organisational behaviour of modern Mexican drug cartels has shifted away from drug trafficking. What sparked this change? … Continue readingFrom transactional to territorial: The evolution of Mexican drug cartels and the challenge to state sovereignty

Intervention vs Isolation: Paradoxical Logic in Trumpian Foreign Policy?

Predicted to be an isolationist president, Trump has since demonstrated the unpredictability of his foreign policy directions. Is Trump pivoting to a more interventionist approach from what was promised, or has he always been aiming to retain a large military presence? If so, how can we identify a pattern in this seemingly abstract picture? … Continue readingIntervention vs Isolation: Paradoxical Logic in Trumpian Foreign Policy?

The Neo-Monroe Doctrine: Post-Maduro Venezuela and a New Age of American Interventionism

Reports of low-flying aircraft and explosions over Caracas, Venezuela, hit Australian media in the early evening, and quickly, it was all over. For many international commentators, leaders, and political figures, this intervention in Venezuela was not just shocking, but unprecedented. However, such American interventionism in Latin America has a history that precedes Trump, and is representative of a renewed age of superpower intervention in geopolitics. The real question is, what comes next? … Continue readingThe Neo-Monroe Doctrine: Post-Maduro Venezuela and a New Age of American Interventionism