The Potential for Conflict in Latin America: A Cross-National Study.

This paper has one primary and five secondary objectives. The major purpose is to examine the potential for conflict in Latin America--with particular emphasis on the Andean countries. The secondary objectives are to 1 inject discipline and reasoned operational definitions into a generally fuzzy area of study, and to contribute to a theoretical-empirical elucidation of the contemporary power equation 2 outline Latin American security fears 3 measure the relative vulnerability of the various Latin American countries to overt and international systemic aggression 4 determine the apparent direction in which the relative vulnerabilities of the countries of this region are moving and, finally, 5 suggest some implications and recommendations for United States policy in the Hemisphere. Through the fusing of data with theory at this macro-level, one can better understand the realities of international conflict in the contemporary world determine general patterns and, hopefully, establish an effective reference point in the formulation of broad policy. Author