ABSTRACT
It is frequently stated, though incorrectly, that the United States has been hegemonic in the Western Hemisphere since the enunciation of the Monroe Doctrine in 1823. These overstated notions of US dominance often form the background for today’s assessments of the roles of rising powers and other external actors in Latin America. While historically dubious, this exaggerated perception of US power is shared by the United States’ harshest critics and by those in the United States who suffer nostalgia for bygone days of US pre-eminence. In addition, recurring hegemonic presumptions and fears of declining US influence have long coloured US policymakers’ own perceptions of international relations in the Americas, while obscuring Latin American agency. This chapter argues that the role of the United States in Latin America would be better understood as chronologically, geographically and thematically variegated. Tremendous asymmetries of material capabilities do exist and have important consequences; however, these have been tempered by other factors including the limits of converting capabilities to influence, poor and inconsistent US policymaking, and Latin Americans’ agency and determination to pursue their own interests.
