With increasing globalization, national security is inseperable from regional security and depends on the establishment of effective mechanisms for cooperation. This book asserts that the creation of a framework for regional cooperation will depend on the establishment of the local level of confidence building measures. It evaluates the potential roles of such international organizations as the Organization of American States and the Inter-American Defense Board, and studies the changing regional policies of the United States for their effectiveness and impact on regional security.

The contributors asses both the theoretical and the empirical background of cooperation in the Americas, and argue that different subregions such as the Caribean Basin, the Andean nations, and the Southern Cone approach cooperation from different strategic perspectives and traditions. They show that building hemispheric security requires pragmatic attention to local complexities and a concerted effort to emphasize common interests, including the defense of deomcracy, economic stability, citizens’ security, and environmental protection.

Joseph S. Tulchin is Director of the Latin American Program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C. He is the author of more than twenty books, most recently The Consolidation of Democracy in Latin America. Francisco Rojas Aravena is Director of the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences, Santiago, Chile. His most recent publication (as co-editor) is Chile-Mercosur: A Strategic Alliance.

Introduction
Joseph S. Tulchin and Francisco Rojas Aravena

Part One – Regional Perspectives on Strategic Balance and Confidence Building Measures 
1. The Question of Confidence Building Measures in the Andean Subregion
Fernando Bustamante
2. A Chilean Perspective on Strategic Balance in the Southern Cone
Miguel Navarro Meza
3. Strategic Balance, Brazil, and Western Hemisphere Security
Thomaz Guedes Da Costa
4. A United States View of Strategic Balance in the Americas
John A. Cope
5. The Caribbean in a New Strategic Environment
Ivelaw L. Griffith
6. Strategic Balance and Regional Security in the Southern Cone
Marcela Donadio and Luis Tibiletti

Part Two – Confidence and Equilibrium in the Inter-American System
7. Confidence Building Measures and Strategic Balance: A Step Toward Expansion and Stability
Francisco Rojas Aravena
8. Strategic Balance and Confidence Building Measures in Latin America: The Historical Utility of An Ambiguous Concept
David R. Mares
9. A Latin American View of the Inter-American Defense Board and Strategic Equilibrium in Latin America
Vincente Casales
10. Confidence Building in the Americas: A Conclusion
Joseph S. Tulchin and Ralph Espach