American International Relations: Lessons from Dollar Diplomacy and Caribbean Development
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Authors
Brock, Darryl E.
Issue Date
2011
Type
Article
Language
Keywords
Global development and peace , International relations , United States of America , Caribbean
Alternative Title
Abstract
Description
The United States sprung onto the world stage at the turn of the twentieth century, joining the ranks of the European imperial powers. Two events catalyzed this evolution, both occurring in the Caribbean. The outcome of the Spanish-American War proved the first, with direct possession of Puerto Rico and other territories, as well as virtual control over Cuba as a protectorate. Soon thereafter, primarily associated with President William Howard Taft, Dollar Diplomacy provided a vehicle for U.S. sovereignty over the Dominican Republic and other areas of the Caribbean, substituting "dollars for bullets." The U.S. projected its power into these arenas, seeking to reshape and develop regional Latin American polities into capitalistic, democratic nations in the American image. This laboratory, experimenting with power and economic development, would forge new American foreign policy directions, its echoes today shaping contemporary nation-building projects in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.