Drug trafficking laws have led to some contentious relationships among North and South American countries. Now the decriminalization of drugs is challenging these relationships in new ways. Find out more—when you subscribe to World Politics Review. Drug trafficking has become such a part of the landscape in Mexico that those involved in the practice even have their own unofficial patron saint: Jesus Malverde, a mustachioed bandit from the hills of Sinaloa state who, according to legend, stole from the rich and gave to the poor until his death by hanging in 1909. Though primarily an icon for those who run [...]
South Sudan’s five-year civil war was supposed to end with the signing of a revitalized peace deal last year, but violence continues and the humanitarian situation remains bleak. The government and opposition now have five months to implement the agreement and form a transitional government, or risk another unraveling. On paper, the peace deal signed by South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and former Vice President-turned-armed opposition leader Riek Machar on Sept. 12 halted a conflict that has claimed an estimated 383,000 lives and left most of the population facing malnutrition and severe food insecurity. However, a very similar peace deal [...]
During the Cold War, America’s global strategy was based on two pillars: leadership and security partnerships. First applied only to Europe, this strategy later expanded to the Pacific and, by the 1970s, to the Middle East, which became and remain the most important regions in American foreign policy. Global leadership placed economic and military burdens on the United States, but most Americans believed that the benefits justified the costs. While there were always debates over precisely how and where to implement the strategy, there was broad agreement on the two core pillars. The political right and left, Republicans and Democrats, [...]
