The Inter-American Dilemma: The Search for Cooperation at the Centennial of the Inter-American System (review)

270 SAIS REVIEW reason why an evolutionary approach cannot lead to a revolutionary one that will require a fundamental shift in NATO doctrine. ATBM capabilities may be the first step in that process, however, they should not be the last. Yet if Yost's main concern is indeed the creation of consensus among the NATO partners, the ATBM is the lowest common denominator around which to build that consensus—politically acceptable, even if militarily ineffective. All in all, Yost does an admirable job in compiling and analyzing the major developments in U.S.-West European relations, the current SDI debate both in the United States and in Europe, and current trends in strategic arms control and Western strategic thought. Unfortunately, the wealth of information and documentation obscures Yost's own thoughts, and the essential thesis of the book is unclear. Nevertheless, the book is a thought-provoking contribution to the literature of strategic studies and a critical reference for any serious student of Western and Soviet strategic military doctrine. The Inter-American Dilemma: The Search for Cooperation at the Centennial of the Inter-American System. ByL. Ronald Scheman. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1988. 232 pp. $39.95/cloth. Reviewed by Beth Kruchko, M.A. candidate, SAIS. L. Ronald Scheman has had an extensive career in inter-American affairs, with positions ranging from assistant secretary for management of the Organization of American States (OAS) to the founding executive director of the Center for Advanced Studies of the Americas. Thus Scheman knows the system intimately , and his book The Inter-American Dilemma provides an insightful and provocative analysis of both its problems and its potential. Scheman uses the OAS as a focal point; he assesses the first century of the search for inter-American cooperation, which began in 1889 with the First International Conference of American States (INCAS). Special attention is given to the massive internal reforms of the OAS from 1975 to 1983, which he helped institute. The scope of the book is broader than its title suggests, however, for in the sixth chapter Scheman expands his examination of this regional organization to include an analysis of the structure and role of the United Nations, concluding that the entire global development system needs to be reorganized into a more decentralized and regionally-specific framework. Scheman's book begins with a brief overview of the past one hundred years of the inter-American system. The author argues that the system's main dilemma is that it is operating as an abstraction, immersed in trivia and top-heavy with an over-paid and under-utilized bureaucracy to such an extent that it can no longer respond effectively to the needs of its member states. In the past thirty years, he maintains that the goal of the OAS has evolved from the maintenance of peace to promoting development issues, and within the confines of its original structure it is unable to provide efficient assistance on a consistent basis. Scheman outlines four flaws in the basic concepts on which the OAS is founded. First, the linking of Caribbean and South American interests in one BOOK REVIEWS 271 organization neglects the divergent needs and aims of both areas. Second, the notion that such a system that can link states with such large disparities of power is idealistically flawed; the lack ofequal leverage precludes a workable balance of power. Scheman also attacks the Rio treaty and its concept of collective security , arguing that Latin America's dilemmas often are not the result of a single aggressor but rather the product ofmore complicated intrastate situations that the treaty does not address. Finally, Scheman stresses that no strong link exists between the member countries' political or commercial players and the OAS, weakening the organization's claim to be an alternative to individual country solutions. Although he mentions several successful projects of the OAS, such as a region-wide teacher training program, Scheman concludes that the present structure of the OAS renders the entire system paralyzed. The lesson of the past thirty years especially, he argues, has been that informal procedures organized by strong regional agencies, which can utilize local resources, are the optimum components in a regional development system...