About Us Who
We Are
Who We AreThis website is maintained by International Relations Center for the IRC Americas Program. Founded in 1979, the IRC is a small but dynamic nonprofit policy studies center whose overarching goal is to help forge a new global affairs agenda for the U.S. government and people-one that makes the United States a more responsible global leader and partner. The primary way we do this is by producing policy reports, issue briefs, political commentary, and popular education materials offering essential information and credible, forward looking policy analysis. Through these materials, the IRC seeks to educate policymakers, influence public debates regarding the U.S. role in global affairs, change public opinion, inform activists, and foster strategic dialogue among progressives across the globe on key issues like economic globalization, sustainable development, and peace and security. Currently, the IRC has two primary initiatives in place: our Americas Program and our Global Affairs Program. To learn more about the IRC, visit our institutional homepage at www.irc-online.org. [ back to top ]
The IssuesThe signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in the early 1990s opened a new era in hemispheric relations in the Americas--one in which economic issues, not cold war geopolitical concerns, play the leading role. Further liberalization of trade in the region remains a priority for most governments in the Americas. However, consensus about the direction that economic integration should take and what sort of governance mechanisms should accompany it remains elusive--while doubts regarding the free trade model's treatment of underdevelopment, income distribution, and poverty are deepening. Ten years ago, the debate surrounding NAFTA's passage sparked widespread discussion regarding the shape that social and economic integration in the Americas should take. Today, the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas is prompting similar discussions. At the same time, Mexico's recent push for relaxed U.S.-Mexico migration controls and vocal support for a modified "NAFTA plus" agreement have also served to further intensify debates about the future of integration in the Americas. Meanwhile, alongside the debate on economic integration a number of what political scientists call "transnational issues" have assumed high-profile positions in public policy debates and government-to-government relations in the Americas. Most prominent are illegal drug flows, labor market integration and crossborder migration, border control issues, and environmental degradation and natural resource use in the free trade context. As a result of this panorama, 10 years after the close of Latin America's age of dictators the region remains as much at the crossroads as ever. One thing is clear: U.S. political and economic influence is still a major force shaping both economic and political developments in the region--as well as the course of hemispheric integration. It's also true, however, that over the past ten years new, transnational citizen networks have emerged in the Americas and are playing an increasingly influential role in charting a new course for hemispheric integration. Indeed, despite all the challenges that the current landscape presents, it offers a number of opportunities as well. Accordingly, the IRC established its Americas Program in order to explore policy options for development and integration in the Americas that are both workable and firmly grounded in the principles of sustainable development and environmental protection, equitable economic development, multilateralism, and respect for human rights. Broadly speaking, the Americas Program focuses on issues relating to international cooperation and equitable and sustainable development in Latin America as well as the role of U.S. foreign policy in the region. Issues of particular concern to us include:
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What the Americas Program Does
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Our GoalsThe IRC's Americas Program seeks to explore and promote policy options for economic development, trade, and international relations in the Americas that are both workable and firmly grounded in the principles of sustainable development and environmental protection, equitable economic development, multilateralism, and respect for human rights. Specific program objectives include:
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Our PrinciplesThe IRC's approach to its work in both programs (Americas and Global Affairs programs) is characterized by: Collaborative approaches. The IRC taps the skills of policy analysts and advocates from across the planet as collaborators in order to deepen our analysis, to encourage strategic discussions among progressives, and to project often-ignored voices from civil society into policy debates. Progressive principles and intellectual rigor. Although the analysis published by the IRC does not always represent our own views, we do seek to ensure that IRC-sponsored analysis is consonant with such broad progressive principles as respect for human rights and multilateral problem solving and we require all material that we publish to be concisely argued and fact-based. Pushing the envelope. When working with collaborators to formulate analysis, we don't just give them carte blanche, but rather seek a balance between allowing them freedom of opinion and challenging them to shape analysis that is unique and strategic, rather than recycled and dogmatic. Promoting dialogue between the global North and South. The IRC strives not only to bridge the gaps between grassroots communities and policymakers but between the global North and South by collaborating with partners overseas and incorporating their perspectives and analyses. [ back to top ]
Program Finances and GovernanceThe IRC has been certified as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization since 1983 and is in compliance with the New Mexico Charitable Organization and Solicitation Act. Major funders of the IRC's Americas Program include the Rockefeller Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Additional and crucial support comes from smaller philanthropic foundations and individual donors. The IRC's Americas and Global Affairs programs operate independently but also frequently collaborate with one another. Both programs have advisory committees; IRC institutional governance responsibilities belong to the IRC board of directors. Final authority for IRC programs lies with our executive director, while the Global Affairs and Americas program directors manage daily operations. To learn more about the IRC, including information about staff involved in the Americas Program, visit our institutional homepage at www.irc-online.org. [ back to top ]
Contact InformationAmericas Program [ back to top ]
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