ABSTRACT
After independence in 1825, Bolivian foreign policy focused on five interrelated goals: sovereignty, national security, territorial integrity, continental solidarity, and economic independence. This chapter assesses the nation’s success in the pursuit of these objectives, highlighting the negative impact which poor governance, limited state capacity, and a fixation on the maritime issue has had on their achievement. Acknowledging the geopolitical ramifications of being landlocked, the singular nature of Bolivia’s approach to the problem is also addressed. Of the 32 landlocked developing countries in the world today, Bolivia is the only one to focus on a sovereign outlet to the ocean as opposed to improved transit rights as the solution to the problem. Concluding thoughts on the present and future direction of Bolivian foreign policy are also found here.
