President Hugo Chavez has used the windfall of high oil prices to remake Venezuela internally along the model of 21st-century socialism and, even more audaciously, to rewrite global relations by directly challenging U.S. hegemony. The dramatic ascendency of the country in hemispheric and global international relations over the past decade is the subject of this title.

This in-depth study provides a timely assessment of how the foreign, military, and security policies of Venezuela shape relations with the United States in the Chavez era. The growing importance of Venezuela in the global oil market along with the controversial nature of its leadership provoke concern among some world powers—especially the United States, whose international policies have been heavily criticized by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. This critical look at American/Venezuelan relations presents perceptions held by each government of the other and examines the sources of tensions—and points of confluence—between the two countries. Global Security Watch—Venezuela traces the political relations between the United States and Venezuela from the early roots based in Pan Americanism to the domestic and foreign policies of the Chavez regime, including petro-diplomacy. This book provides a serious examination of the allegations about Venezuelan involvement in the drug trade, terrorism, and intervention; the view that the unilateralism of the United States threatens world peace; and the future of relations between the two countries.

This book explores the behaviour of Venezuela within the international state system. What explains Venezuela's recent international protagonism? Is it Hugo Chavez and his '21st Century Socialism'? Or is it simply a matter of high oil prices and Washington's hostile stance towards center of left regimes in Latin America? Dissatisfied by traditional theories on International Relations and The Natural Resource Curse, Remi Lehmann analyzes Venezuelan foreign policy since 1989: from the neoliberal oriented governments of Carlos Andres Perez and Rafael Caldera to Hugo Chavez. From FTAA tot ALBA, from OAS to UNASUR, the Argentine bailout and the reinsertion of Cuba into Latin-American politics. Taking into account the country's political framework, its dependendence on oil rents and the controversial regime of Hugo Chavez, an explanation is offered for both differences and similarities in Venezuelan foreign policy over time.

This book details the diplomatic relations between the United States and Venezuela during a pivotal time in world history. Through the utilization of archival materials and newspaper accounts, the author highlights the words of the major participants to demonstrate how the two nations worked together – sometimes hand-in-hand, sometimes face-to-face – to prevent the European War from spreading to the Western Hemisphere. Despite several efforts to develop hemispheric unity during the War, Venezuelan leaders perceived the policy of neutrality to be in the best interest of the country's national sovereignty. This book explores the personalities of the chief executives and selected diplomats to illustrate how both personnel and personalities molded their nation’s foreign relations. In the end, while perceived as two very different individuals who pursued different paths during the global conflict, the leadership styles of President Woodrow Wilson and General Juan Vicente Gómez were more alike than they realized. The overall cordial relations between the two nations during the period under review helped establish the foundation for the petroleum bonanza that United States companies would enjoy in the following years.

First published in 1999, this volume focuses on the impact of democratic bargaining on the process of oil policy-making in Venezuela, stressing the constraints posed by politics on PVDSA's efforts to expand its foreign operations. Venezuela offers a unique case and fertile ground for the study of oil policy-making processes. In the specialised literature, very little attention has been paid to the nature and operations of multinationals from developing countries. By analysing Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PVDSA)'s international policy, this unique book explores the difficulties encountered by a major state oil enterprise in its efforts to grow beyond national borders.