Michael Shifter

Campaigns & Elections May 23, 2018 Snapshot

Will Colombia Make Peace With Its Peace Deal?

Over the year and a half since its signing, the peace deal continues to face mounting challenges in turning its terms into a reality.

Michael Shifter

Campaigns & Elections Dec 20, 2017 Snapshot

The Election Crisis in Honduras

For many Hondurans, the current political drama is all too familiar: it is a possible repeat of the events surrounding the 2009 coup d’état, and a tragic continuation...

Michael Shifter

Security Aug 1, 2017 Snapshot

Venezuela After the Constituent Assembly

Venezuela’s democracy has crumbled—but because the Maduro government’s position is still unsustainable, the opposition should keep on planning for an eventual...

Michael Shifter and Ben Raderstorf

At a rally in tribute to victims of violence in protests against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas, July 2017.

Regional Organizations May 5, 2017 Snapshot

Venezuela’s Bad Neighbor Policy

Venezuela’s decision to quit the OAS shouldn’t spell the end of Latin America’s campaign to help end the country’s crisis.

Michael Shifter

Opposition supporters clashing with riot police in Caracas, Venezuela, May 2017.

Cuba September/October 2016 Capsule Review

Open for Business: Building the New Cuban Economy

Feinberg rightly touts Cuba’s expanding private sector, the growth of the middle class, and the country’s increased openness to foreign investment, but he also notes...

Reviewed by Michael Shifter

This article is paywall-free.

Venezuela Mar 10, 2016 Snapshot

Venezuela's Meltdown Continues

Just a decade ago, much of the political left in Latin America and beyond still admired Venezuela’s ambitious socialist project. Today, however, few dispute that it...

Michael Shifter

A demonstrator wearing a Venezuelan national flag to cover his face walks in front of a burning van during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro's government in San Cristobal, Venezuela, March, 2016.

South America Oct 14, 2015 Snapshot

Crackdown in Caracas

Worsening economic and political crises, mostly of the government's own making, continue to threaten Venezuela's stability. With inflation at 200 percent and among the...

Michael Shifter

Police keep guard during a protest in support of jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez in Venezuela

Economic Development Apr 1, 2015 Snapshot

The Caracas Context

U.S. sanctions against Venezuela were met with controversy not because of whom they targeted, but rather due to language that could help bolster President Nicolás...

Michael Shifter

Brazil Mar 5, 2013 Snapshot

So Long, Chávez

After a reign of 14 years, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez died on March 5, 2013. Regardless of what follows, Chávez’s legacy, and the damage he left behind, will not...

Michael Shifter

Politics & Society Jun 1, 2011 Reading List

What to Read on Venezuela

An annotated Foreign Affairs syllabus on Venezuela.

Michael Shifter

Obama Administration Aug 24, 2009 Snapshot

Obama's Honduras Problem

After the June ousting of President José Manuel Zelaya, Honduras has become a test of the Obama administration's posture toward the whole of Latin America.

Michael Shifter

Political Development Nov 7, 2007 Postscript

Slouching Toward Authoritarianism

Shifter's update to his May/June 2006 essay "In Search of Hugo Chávez."

Michael Shifter

Economic Development May 11, 2005 Postscript

Bonfire of the Andes

Shifter's update to his September/October 2004 essay "Breakdown in the Andes"

Michael Shifter

Political Development May/June 2006 Essay

In Search of Hugo Chávez

The debate over Hugo Chávez has been dominated by opposing caricatures -- a polarization that has thwarted a sound policy response. The Venezuelan president has an...

Michael Shifter

Economic Development September/October 2004 Essay

Breakdown in the Andes

The southern Andes, long known for social volatility and economic disarray, is on the verge of chaos. This need not be cause for fatalism, however. By reengaging with...

Michael Shifter

Political Development July/August 1999 Comment

Colombia on the Brink: There Goes the Neighborhood

Colombians no longer trust their government to salvage the economy, fight the drug lords, or negotiate with the rebels. A bad neighborhood is about to get worse.

Michael Shifter

Michael Shifter

Will Colombia Make Peace With Its Peace Deal?

The Election Crisis in Honduras

Venezuela After the Constituent Assembly

Venezuela’s Bad Neighbor Policy

Open for Business: Building the New Cuban Economy

Venezuela's Meltdown Continues

Crackdown in Caracas

The Caracas Context

So Long, Chávez

What to Read on Venezuela

Obama's Honduras Problem

Slouching Toward Authoritarianism

Bonfire of the Andes

In Search of Hugo Chávez

Breakdown in the Andes

Colombia on the Brink: There Goes the Neighborhood

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Graduate School Forum

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AMLO’s ‘Hugs Not Bullets’ Is Failing Mexico

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Behind Sierra Leone’s Ambitious, Tech-Driven Development Plan

The Link Between Foreign Languages and U.S. National Security

Aung San Suu Kyi’s Major Speech on Rakhine State

Creating a State Department Office for American State and Local Diplomacy

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NAFTA’s Economic Impact

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