91ΑΤΖζβs departments of Intelligence and Security Studies and Political Science hosted the National Security Conference in late September. Attendees from the college and the intelligence and military communities gathered to examine transnational threats in Latin America, including the regionβs role in the strategic ambitions of Russia and China.
Panels on the first day centered on Cuba and Venezuela, authoritarian resilience and opportunities, and the future of U.S. relations with Latin America. Notable panelists included James Coker, State Department adviser to SOUTHCOM, and James Story, former U.S. ambassador to Venezuela.
βLatin America is such a focus of current U.S. foreign policy, from Venezuela and Cuba to countering Chinese growth in our hemisphere,β said Frank Emerson, J.D., Gov. John C. West Chair of International Politics and American Government at 91ΑΤΖζ and former CIA chief of an intelligence center in South America. βWe thought this would be a great opportunity to focus on Latin America.β
Other panels discussed U.S. relations with Latin America and Chinaβs growing role in the region. Professor Jon Nelson led a panel on the importance of relations in Latin America that included Rene Howell, former CIA chief of station in Latin America; Kenneth S. Hartman of the South Carolina National Guard; and Emerson.
The conference, now in its third year, ended with a presentation by political science associate professor Michael Sun, Ph.D., on Chinaβs interests and influence in Latin America and its positioning in relation to U.S. goals.
This yearβs National Security Conference drew more than 170 attendees.