ABSTRACT
Ρan-Americanism, at least under U.S. leadership as it was understood by Presidents from Franklin Roosevelt to Lyndon Johnson, is in its death throes, if, indeed, it ever lived. The ties that bind together the nations of North and South America become fewer and weaker; the policies and actions of the countries south of the Rio Grande become increasingly independent of U.S. influence. The vision of two great continents, joined by common liberal values and aspirations as well as by geography, marching hand-in-hand into a better future for all is distorted almost beyond recognition by the events of the last several years. Many idealists and pragmatiste alike among U.S. observers are alarmed, feel frustrated, and are searching for explanations.
