"Complete, well-conceived, highly useful reference work, with 24 experts contributing focused essays on inter-American and US domestic environments, policymaking structures, actors in US political system, and certain major policy issues"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 57.

Tables and figures -- Preface -- 1. Introduction : U.S.-Latin American policymaking / David w. Dent -- PART i. THE INTER-AMERICAN ENVIRONMENT. 2. The External environment / G. Pope Atkins -- 3. The United States and the OAS / Larman C. Wilson and David W. Dent -- 4. International economic organizations / René Salgado -- PART II. THE U.S. DOMESTIC ENVIRONMENT. 5. Elite values / Mark P. Lagon -- 6. Think tanks / Howard J. Wiarda -- 7. Interest groups / David W. Dent -- 8. The U.S. media / John Spicer Nichols, Michael J. Dillon, and Krishna Kishore -- 9. Public opinion / Frederick C. Turner -- PART III. WHO MAKES LATIN AMERICAN POLICY? 10. Making policy for Latin America : process and explanation / Harold Molineu -- 11. The Presidency / Stephen G. Rabe -- 12. The Presidential advisory system / Gabriel Marcella -- 13. The Role of the U.S. ambassador / Edward S. Mihalkanin and Warren Keith Neisler -- 14. The U.S. military / Charles T. Call -- 15. The U.S. Congress / Philip Brenner and Geoffrey Plague -- PART IV. SPECIALIZED POLICY ISSUES IN U.S.-LATIN AMERICAN RELATIONS. 16. Intervention and interventionism / Michael J. Kryzanek -- 17. Human rights / Elizabeth Cohn -- 18. Promoting democracy / Elizabeth Cohn and Michael J. Nojeim -- 19. The United States and the Central American peace process / Darío Moreno and Darío Pérez -- PART V. APPENDICES. A. presidential letter to chiefs of mission -- B. Political cartoons : explainations of the incidents portrayed -- Index.