MSI2 | Research

Journal Article

Taiwan and Belize: A Model of Cooperation Amid Honduran Disenchantment with China

This article examines Taiwan and Belize as a model of cooperation based on mutual respect, economic partnership, and shared development, contrasting it with Honduras’s experience following its decision to break diplomatic relations with Taiwan and...

Author: Dr. Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat

Publication Date: July 30, 2025

Research Area: Geoeconomics, Geopolitics

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Journal Article

From Africa’s Fog to Latin America’s Haze: Convergences of Hybrid Insurgency and State Erosion

This Major SIG examines converging patterns of state erosion across the African Sahel, the Great Lakes region, and the Andean arc. It explores how armed groups, illicit economies, territorial fragmentation, institutional weakness, and cross-border networks...

Author: RAdm Chilean Navy (Ret.) Leonardo Quijarro Santibáñez

Publication Date: May 19, 2026

Research Area: International Relations

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Journal Article

Colombia’s Defense Under Sánchez: Modernization Likely, Autonomy Unlikely

This assessment examines General Pedro Arnulfo Sánchez Suárez’s first year as Colombia’s Minister of National Defense, focusing on three stated defense-policy objectives: military modernization, strategic autonomy, and the recalibration of Colombia’s defense relationship with the...

Author: Jaime (Jim) Gonzalez

Publication Date: June 18, 2026

Research Area: International Relations

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Journal Article

From Presence to Leverage: Architectures of Power and Strategic Competition in the Western Hemisphere

This article examines China's expanding role in Latin America and the Caribbean through the distinction between foreign presence and strategic leverage. Rather than evaluating ports, telecommunications networks, energy infrastructure, critical minerals, digital ecosystems, transportation corridors,...

Author: Dr. Rafael Marrero, CDR José Adán Gutiérrez, USN (Ret.)

Publication Date: June 15, 2026

Research Area: Geoeconomics

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Journal Article

“Useful Idiots”: The Enemy Does Not Need to Break In

This essay examines how Russia, China, and Iran exploit the openness of democratic societies to advance strategic objectives without relying primarily on direct coercion. Using Lioness as a narrative point of entry and drawing on...

Author: Dr. Rafael Marrero

Publication Date: September 2, 2026

Research Area: Geoeconomics, Geopolitics

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