Our Third Issue, and a Second Year

Abstract

The entire Latin American Policy (LAP) and Policy Studies Organization (PSO) team is proud to launch Issue 3, Volume 2, of this new Latin American journal that has rapidly captured the attention and respect of the academic and practitioner community in the region. Two years ago, LAP was still a project in the making. It currently circulates in most prestigious libraries worldwide. LAP's editorial committees are also growing rapidly, and it now has one based in Brazil, steered by the regional editor Thiago de Aragao. This will consolidate LAP as a leading journal on policy and governance issues within the region and outside of it. The Articles section offers four contributions. Opening this second volume is Adolfo Laborde's analysis of the role of Japan's official development assistance to Brazil and the importance of this country to Japanese trade and politics. Two exceptional original research projects on Nicaragua follow. Authors Cottam, Baltonado, and Meráz offer an empirical study of collective action in insurgency and counterinsurgency groups during and after the Sandinista Revolution. Gabriel Telleria then reflects on how the current political situation and policies in Nicaragua can be understood under a pattern of “bicaudillismo,” a model similar to one of duopolistic firm competition for market shares. Jose Etcheverry's article closes this section with timely research covering the need to build a collaborative trinational arrangement that could lead to significant carbon dioxide emission reductions, new economic activity, and greater energy security in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. LAP published other contributions on this subject in its first two issues and hopes to continue disseminating new research on the topic now that the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancún has successfully agreed on a common denominator of understanding for abating emissions of substances that contribute to climate change in the future. Our Policy Articles section includes two contributions. Roberto Abdenur's essay provides an intimate reflection on his experience as Brazilian Ambassador in the United States, China, and Germany and on how certain developments affected his country's foreign policy. Isidro Morales reflects on how development policies and strategies in the region have shifted from national-based paradigms to regional ones. Finally, Eric Farnsworth, currently Vice President of the Council of the Americas, offers an insightful analysis from a Washingtonian perspective of the state of the art in U.S.–Latin American relations. Although his assessment of the region remains optimistic, he highlights the fact that Washington will continue to be “self-consumed and self-absorbed” in articulating an appropriate agenda for the region.