Oh A S! Posted by Suzanne Nossel

Yet another sign of the U.S.'s waning influence in the OAS:  the body is set to reject a U.S. proposal for monitoring democracy in the hemisphere as a thinly veiled jab at Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.  The news report makes this proposal sound a little like a lite version of the Greater Middle East Initiative, a lofty program that was announced in early 2004 and summarily rejected by Arab governments that mistrusted the U.S.'s motives and had not be consulted on its content.  Like that idea, this one was made-in-the-USA and seemingly put forward with little or no consultation among others in the region.  Perhaps the Administration has concluded that, though it might initially raise hackles, given the steps forward in Lebanon and Egypt over the last year, a little high-handedness can go a long way.   

Its worrisome that the U.S. can come off as tone-deaf relative to its backyard of South America as it can in the Middle East.   The state of democracy in the hemisphere is a legitimate concern.  An American foreign policy focused on democracy promotion needs to address democracies that have stagnated or are sliding backwards as a result of economic and social pressures.  But when it comes to working with a group of democracies on how to fortify democracy within their own ranks, the U.S. may have to be a little more democratic in its own methods.

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Good point on "the U.S. may have to be a little more democratic in its own methods." A major reason Latin American nations are hesitant to give more power to the OAS is that the US has used its influence in the past to dominate the organization. Actually empowering Latin America in the debate and dialog is a necessary first step to having everyone move towards an OAS with some actual enforcement mechanisms for its policies.

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