ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses critical variables or dimensions that comprise the condition of being a buffer state for Uruguay, as well as an effort to suggest how the Uruguayan case helps to understand the phenomenon of the buffer state within the international state system. Uruguay's colonial heritage was as an expendable pawn between rival empires, rivals whose colonial policies, and was affected by pressures of politics in Europe, and, particularly in the eighteenth century, by the influence of Great Britain over Portuguese actions. The hero of the Uruguayan struggle for independence was Jose Gervasio Artigas, a quixotic figure who struggled fruitlessly to link the Banda Oriental to a federation of states in the River Plate. The Uruguayan policy of friendship with the US constantly created tension with Argentina, whose foreign policy always seemed to run counter to the objectives of the United States. In terms of tourism, Uruguay is a land bridge between Argentina and Brazil.
