Need for Greater Inter-American Understanding

The Need for Greater Inter-American Understanding

By
William A. Naughton, Ph.D

Copyright © 2003

"The Western Hemisphere is today closer than ever before to regional economic integration and meaningful political cooperation--but many of us are concerned that the pace of progress has slowed in the past two years." --The Americas in 1997: Making Cooperation Work,"The Inter-American Dialogue

"...one must bear in mind the persisting differences between Anglo-America and Ibero-America, as these continue to oppose, influence, and clash with each other.... We have too many common problems, which demand cooperation and understanding in a new world context, to clash as much as we do." -- Carlos Fuentes, in The Buried Mirror

An Urgent Need for Greater Inter-American Understanding:

Simply put, many of our most important regional goals--whether we are talking about sustained economic growth and expanded trade, democratic practices, social justice, hemispheric security, or effective counternarcotics programs--cannot be achieved without greater inter-American understanding and more effective cooperation.

Too many barriers of misunderstanding keep us from working as effectively together as we need to achieve our common goals.

Overcoming those barriers requires greater understanding of each other's perspectives and greater respect, commitment and emphasis on our shared values, interests and goals.

Shared Values and Perspectives...Conflicting Values and Perspectives

We North Americans and Latin Americans share many important values, interests and goals which have enabled us to work effectively together on many issues. And that spirit of partnership and collaboration has strengthened since the 1994 Summit of the Americas as we've learned more about each other's perspectives and have worked together in pursuit of wide-ranging goals of value to us all--not just governments but nongovernmental organizations, business executives, and private citizens as well. We need to build on that spirit of partnership, respect and commitment.

But we also have divergent and conflicting values, interests and goals which hold us back from achieving the level of cooperation we need in inter-American relations. We must overcome those obstacles.

Barriers to Successful Relations

Based on many years of working closely with North Americans and Latin Americans on inter-American issues, I find four primary obstacles to working effectively together:

Overcoming Barriers to Successful Relations

Such barriers can be overcome, but it requires greater understanding, empathy, goodwill and an emphasis on our shared values and interests than we've shown to date.

This web site is one effort to help North Americans and Latin Americans overcome those barriers and achieve success in inter-American relations. We hope you find it of value.

If you have suggestions on improving this website or would like more information, please send me an e-mail at WmNaughton@netscape.net.
Usted también puede enviar sus comentarios y sugerencias en español o en portugués.

You may also find the following of interest:

The Importance of Shared Values in Inter-American Relations
Conflicting Interests in Inter-American Relations
Cultural Conflict in Inter-American Relations
Differing Styles and Business Practices in Inter-American Relations
Ten Mistakes to Avoid in Working With Latin Americans
Two Core Studies on Inter-American Understanding:

About Dr. Naughton

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