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Shared Values in Inter-American Understanding

The Importance of Shared Values
in Inter-American Relations

By William A. Naughton, Ph.D Copyright © 2003

One of the great advantages in inter-American relations in contrast to relations with people from Asia or the Middle East is that we already share many values, interests and goals based on our common Western heritage and long years of association. As U.S. President Bill Clinton expressed it at the December 1994 Summit of the Americas.

"We are bound together by geography, by history, by culture, but, most important now, by shared values."

Shared Inter-American Values

Even though cultural values and national interests vary from country to country, our shared values have provided much of the common ground that has enabled us to achieve substantial agreement and success in inter-American relations. And many years of close inter-American relations have strengthened a sense of common experience and agreement on a wide range of international norms of organization, operations and "rules of the game" in conducting relations.
The Inter-American Dialogue, made up of eminent North Americans and Latin Americans, identified three overriding common goals and challenges facing the hemisphere in the 1990s:

Building regional economic partnerships to enhance global competitiveness,
Protecting and advancing the democratic gains of the past decade, and
Promoting social and economic justice.

Many of those issues were addressed during the 1994 Summit of the Americas, and participating countries committed themselves to implement policies to achieve those common goals. Individual countries may have somewhat differing perceptions of the specific application of those values and goals based on their own national situation, but they share the broad concepts and principles. And that consensus has provided the spirit of partnership and collaboration that has characterized hemispheric conferences and contributed so positively to joint efforts since the Summit.
The importance of shared interests and values was well expressed in the Principles of the Summit of the Americas:
"We recognize the heterogeneity and diversity of our resources and cultures, just as we are convinced that we can advance our shared interests and values by building strong partnerships."

Such shared values and interests are essential building blocks for understanding, consensus, and cooperation. They help ensure accuracy in communication and provide basic acceptance of principles for reaching agreements that respect and satisfy the values and interests of all parties. The more we share values and interests, the less chance there is for misunderstanding and the greater our prospects for developing trust and working effectively together.

What Can We Do to Strengthen Our Common Values and Interests?

My work with North American and Latin Americans on inter-American relations leads me to these recommendations:

Above all else, we must treat each other with the same respect with which we want others to treat us.
We must identify and build on our important shared values, principles, interests, needs and goals.
We must keep those common values and interests in the forefront in our overall relations.
We must work to gain consensus on handling new interests and goals.
We must ensure that differences over specific issues do not harm areas of broader agreement.
We must recognize that shared problems also contribute to a sense of common challenge and offer opportunities to collaborate in a spirit of partnership.

Identifying, reinforcing and building on shared values and interests are critically important to successful inter-American relations. They create a common sense of identity and provide a powerful tool for achieving understanding and for resolving specific issues of disagreement in a framework of partnership and collaboration.

For more information or to provide comments, please send an e-mail message to Dr. Naughton:
You may also find the following of interest:
The Need for Greater Understanding 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 UPDATED!:

Working Successfully With Latin Americans
Negotiating Successfully With Latin Americans
About Dr. Naughton

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