Conclusions and Future Prospects for the OAS

Abstract

As the United States seeks to strengthen its alliances around the world following the attacks of September 11, 2001, it has turned to its formal alliance partners, including the members of the OAS, for support. The OAS, founded as a collective security organization, is structured to respond to security threats to its members. Historically, it has engaged in conflict resolution efforts through the invocation of its Charter or the Rio Treaty. More recently Resolution 1080 and the Democratic Charter have been invoked to defend democracy in the region. The OAS has served as a regional forum for dialogue between the United States and Latin American states on these security issues and has responded to over thirty regional crises in the past 50 years. A close examination of these responses reveals that some have been in line with policy preferences of the United States, others have not, and many have been based on regional consensus. An exploration of the unexpected outcomes when the organization does not simply adopt the policy proposals of its most powerful member reveals a number of interesting aspects about organizational processes and member relations. The analytical framework laid out in chapter 2 facilitates examination of relations within an IO, highlighting previously unexplored organizational factors and their impact on the influence member states exert within the organization.KeywordsMember StateDominican RepublicRegional SecurityPolicy ProposalForeign MinisterThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.