Jeffrey Davidow

Institute of the Americas

Since Jeffrey's retirement from the State Department in 2003, he has served as President of the Institute of the Americas in La Jolla, California.  The Institute is dedicated to promoting dialogue on public policies in Latin America that will encourage economic development, trade and investment, and regional integration.  Among the Institute’s specific interests are policies relating to energy, telecommunications and informatics, and issues of social relevance.

Academia

After leaving Mexico in September 2002, Jeffrey Davidow returned to Harvard to become a Visiting Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and the David Rockefeller center for Latin American Studies. During the 2002-03 academic year, he worked extensively with undergraduate and graduate students.

Author

Jeffrey Davidow wrote a book on US-Mexican relations: The US and Mexico: The Bear and the Porcupine which was first published in Spanish in Mexico by Casa Editorial Grijalba and in English by Markus Weiner Publishers in 2004. He is the co-author of an article on the Mexican elections published in 2006 in Foreign Affairs.

International Keynote Speaker

Jeffery Davidow is a renowned expert on the subject of Latin American and US relations with the area.  He is a sought-after international keynote speaker. 

Speaking Topics: 

US Policy Toward Latin America –What will the Next Administration Bring?
There has been a significant continuity in American policy to the region through the Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II administrations. The policy emphasis has been on promoting free trade, democratic transition, and anti-narcotics cooperation. But each of these pillars is being challenged by events in the hemisphere and by domestic political considerations in the US. Will the new administration pursue these goals or adopt other policies? And is there any likelihood of new approaches to Cuba, immigration and other concerns of the hemisphere?

The Geopolitics of Latin American Energy
Issues relating to energy production and supply are among the most delicate and complicated in determining the domestic policies, international relations, and the role of Latin America in the world economy. The rise of resource nationalism, the unwillingness or inability of governments to fulfill contractual arrangements with their neighbours and with the private sector,  the decline in production of petroleum in some countries owing to poor management, Brazil’s energy self-sufficiency, and global markets which are everyday harder to predict are a few of the geo-political factors that place energy issues at the heart of the hemisphere’s economic and political future.

The Immigration Scandal in the United States
Once only a problem that affected Mexico, immigration into the United States has become a major issue for other hemispheric states, particularly those in Central America, the Caribbean and other countries, such as Venezuela, that are seeing large numbers of inhabitants seek economic or political refuge in the United States. The inability or unwillingess of the American political system to develop rational and human policies to deal with the massive increase of newcomers is, indeed, a scandal which has deep economic, political and social roots.

A New Vision for Latin American Corporations
There is a growing fatigue with the concept of corporate social responsibility. There has been a lot more talk than action in many situations. The best companies realize that they have responsibilities to their workers, the larger community and the environment, but they often approach these responsibilities with an absence of the rigour that they apply to other business decisions. Governments are frequently indifferent or hostile to these concerns.  What are some of the alternative strategies for both business, government and the NGO community?

For further information or to book Jeffrey Davidow, call us at Speakers Corner on +44 (0)20 7607 7070 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk