ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the Latin American interests of selected states outside the Western Hemisphere. It focuses on three of the nonhemispheric states: Japan, a vigorous economic force with almost purely economic interests; Israel, with an essentially political approach toward Latin America and an important military supplier; and the People’s Republic of China, a highly significant global actor with only hesitant and temporary Latin American policies. During the colonial period most of Latin America was ruled by Spain and Portugal, with the small Caribbean remainder belonging to other European masters. European involvement with the new Latin American states reached its height during the latter half of the nineteenth century and in the twentieth century to World War I. European interest in Latin America sharply declined as a result of World War I but was rekindled throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Japan historically had at most a modest interest in Latin America until after World War II.
