article
Summit of the Americas, Drugs, and Civil Society: Towards a True Model of Hemispheric Participation?
Cumbre de las Américas, drogas y sociedad civil: ¿Hacia un verdadero esquema de participación hemisférico?
Autor
Borda Guzmán, Sandra
Institución
Resumen
Based on the progress made during the first two summits of the Americas (Miami and Santiago), the article suggests that, on the question of drug trade, FTAA negotiations have been marked by the States protagonism and reduced participation on behalf of other actors, in contrast with other topics on the·hemispheric agenda. The author suggests that the topic of drugs has been dealt with on a bilateral basis, leading to problems such as an emphasis on tension rather than on cooperation. The article also mentions the effect of international asymmetry on how the topic is dealt with, as shown by the fact that the Santiago Summit produced only a partial anti-drug agreement while the Miami Summit failed to produce an agreement altogether. The article ends with several conceptual remarks on the relationship between international trends and domestic policy on this topic.