The Obama Administration and the Americas: Agenda for Change

"This useful volume by a stellar group of experts should be warmly welcomed by
the Obama administration as it tries to reset the course of U.S. policy toward
the Americas based on mutual respect and convergence of interests." -
Ambassador Thomas Pickering, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs,
1997-2001

"Written by scholars and practitioners with a deep understanding of Latin
American societies and politics, this excellent book will help craft a more
constructive relationship between the region and the United States." -
Fernando Henrique Cardoso, President of Brazil, 1995-2003

WASHINGTON, March 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- When President Barack Obama
makes his regional debut at the fifth Summit of the Americas on April 17, he
and the 33 democratically elected leaders of the region will be challenged by
a complex agenda and a turbulent economic environment. To navigate through the
prevailing headwinds, the United States will need to take a fresh approach,
establishing common ground with our increasingly independent and globalized
neighbors. The new Brookings Institution Press book The Obama Administration
and the Americas: Agenda for Change (April 2009) shows how the United States
can improve the quality of attention it devotes to the Americas.

Our neighbors to the south affect the daily lives of U.S. citizens on issues
such as energy, narcotics, immigration, trade and jobs. Edited by Brookings
Nonresident Senior Fellow Abraham F. Lowenthal, Brookings Senior Fellow
Theodore J. Piccone and University of Oxford Fellow Laurence Whitehead, The
Obama Administration and the Americas suggests that the United States should
seize an early opportunity to engage Latin America, recognizing the region's
diversity but also its shared concerns and aspirations. While other foreign
policy issues may be more pressing, the book argues that the new
administration should seek to rebuild inter-American cooperation and to
refocus - in a nuanced, patient and sensitive way - on how to promote,
strengthen and protect democratic governance in the Americas.

In this timely volume, top experts from Latin America, Europe and the United
States consider such tough issues as bolstering fragile political change in
Haiti, dealing with a controversial regime in Venezuela, navigating dramatic
political change in Bolivia, confronting the breakdown of the rule of law in
Mexico, and dealing thoughtfully with the ongoing transition in Cuba,
including a proposal to open negotiations on returning the Guantanamo naval
base. The contributors offer practical, and in many cases, bold
recommendations for President Obama and his team.

The editors will be presenting the book at a public forum on Wednesday, April
1 at 3:30 p.m. in the Brookings Falk Auditorium and will be joined by Mexico's
Ambassador to the United States, Arturo Sarukhan.

"This timely, pragmatic volume ... is an excellent addition to the reading
list for policymakers, analysts, and practitioners alike." - Thomas "Mack"
McLarty, White House Special Envoy for the Americas, 1996-98

"It is finally possible, through frank dialogue, to build a new partnership in
the Americas. The authors of this timely book give a promising and hopeful
response." - Ricardo Lagos, President of Chile, 2000-06

The Editors

Abraham F. Lowenthal is a professor of international relations at the
University of Southern California and a nonresident senior fellow at the
Brookings Institution. The founding president of the Pacific Council on
International Policy, he was also the founding director of the Inter-American
Dialogue.

Theodore J. Piccone is a senior fellow and deputy director for Foreign Policy
at the Brookings Institution. He serves as an adviser to the Club of Madrid
and has served on the National Security Council, at the State Department and
in the Pentagon.

Laurence Whitehead is an official fellow in politics at Nuffield College at
the University of Oxford and editor of the Oxford Studies in Democratisation
series. He is the author of Latin America: A New Interpretation (Palgrave
Macmillan, 2005).

The Brookings Institution is a private nonprofit organization devoted to
independent research and innovative policy solutions. For more than 90 years,
Brookings has analyzed current and emerging issues and produced new ideas that
matter - for the nation and the world.

The Obama Administration and the Americas: Agenda for Change
Edited by Abraham F. Lowenthal, Theodore J. Piccone, and Laurence
Whitehead
Foreword by Strobe Talbott
Brookings Institution Press
Pub date: April 1, 2009
6 x 9 - 235 pages
paper - ISBN 978-0-8157-0309-9 - $28.95/20.99 pounds Sterling

Contributors: Carlos Elizondo (Centro de Investigacion y Docencia Economicas),
Daniel P. Erikson (Inter-American Dialogue), Bert Hoffmann (University of
Hamburg), Ana Laura Magaloni (Centro de Investigacion y Docencia Economicas),
Jennifer McCoy (Georgia Tech University and the Carter Center), George Gray
Molina (University of Oxford), Rodrigo Pardo (former foreign minister of
Colombia and director of the magazine Cambio), Marifeli Perez-Stable (Florida
International University and Inter-American Dialogue), Michael Shifter
(Inter-American Dialogue), Juan Gabriel Valdes (United Nations, formerly), and
Daniel Zovatto (International Institute for Democracy and Electoral
Assistance).

SOURCE Brookings Institution

Jaime S. Fearer, Brookings Press, +1-202-536-3608, Gail Chalef, Foreign
Policy, +1-202-797-4396, or Juliet Bui, Office of Communications,
+1-202-797-6467, all of Brookings Institution