ABSTRACT
FOREIGN POLICY IN A DEMOCRACY INEVITABLY GOES BEYOND THE confines of government itself. Increasingly intertwined with official policy are the multiple contacts among individuals and groups across societies. This is not to say that such contacts occur without relation to government policy; after all, even tourists must accept rules about visas and passports, currency exchange and customs. At the same time, pressures from organized groups lead to changes in foreign policy in response to public opinion, and, in this sense, many see that a new actor has assumed a place in international relations in the form of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that have interests of a regional or global scope. Many of these organizations defend human rights, the environment, and other supranational interests, but it should not be assumed that all are saintly altruists. Money launderers and exploitative sects also roam the international scene, often clothing themselves in the same heavenly robes as their more legitimate opponents. In this chapter, we will look at some of the ways this new factor in world politics, a part of the general phenomenon of globalization, influences relations between the United States and Venezuela.
