The End of Empathy and Venezuelan Immigrants: Takeaways from a Survey of Venezuelans in Florida Eduardo A Gamarra Hannah Arendt's reflections on empathy caution against a society's decline into barbarism when compassion yields to division and intolerance. This erosion of empathy is vividly illustrated by a recent survey of Venezuelans in Florida, which reveals significant internal divisions within the Venezuelan-American community itself. Historically, immigrant communities in the United States have often demonstrated solidarity, empathy, and mutual support. However, this survey reveals a troubling trend where empathy diminishes as immigrant communities become more established. Venezuelans who arrived earlier and secured citizenship or permanent residency show starkly different attitudes compared to recent arrivals, particularly those depending on temporary protections such as TPS or humanitarian parole. The survey conducted by the Latino Public Opinion Forum at Florida Inter...
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The End of Empathy in American Political Culture? Eduardo A Gamarra Hannah Arendt's critical reflections on compassion and empathy highlight a profound transformation in American political culture. In The Origins of Totalitarianism, Arendt characterizes compassion as a complex phenomenon that paradoxically "opens the heart of the sufferer to the suffering of others," but also risks depoliticizing and homogenizing experiences by "closing the sense of uniqueness in the sufferer." This nuanced understanding of empathy offers a powerful framework for examining the contemporary decline of empathy in American civic life. Historically, American political culture has embraced civic participation, collective welfare, and an empathetic approach toward social and economic inequalities, as articulated by Sidney Verba in his notion of Civic Culture. The New Deal consensus and the civil rights ideals of the Great Society era embodied structured and institutionalized empat...
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Could a Protectorate Save Haiti? Eduardo A. Gamarra Protectorates, defined as temporary international administrations that provide governance, security, and institution-building, have emerged globally under circumstances strikingly similar to Haiti's current situation. These cases share key characteristics: severe governance failures, extreme insecurity, widespread humanitarian crises, and a lack of domestic solutions. Examining examples such as Kosovo, East Timor, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Namibia, and even Haiti's prior U.S. occupation highlights both the promise and the complexity inherent in establishing international protectorates. Kosovo, under the UN Interim Administration Mission (UNMIK) from 1999 to 2008, followed NATO's intervention to stop severe ethnic violence and human rights abuses. UNMIK initially succeeded in restoring basic security, facilitating democratic elections, and eventually paving the way toward independence. However, significant challenges remain...
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A Regional Nuremberg Court to Combat Organized Crime in the Americas Eduardo A Gamarra Transnational organized crime has emerged as the key security crisis in the Western Hemisphere. From the violent extortion tactics of gangs like Tren de Aragua to the cartel-led violence destabilizing Mexico and Colombia, organized criminal networks are weakening governance, diminishing public trust, and threatening democratic societies throughout the region. The unilateral strategy recently adopted by President Trump, while loud and possibly politically beneficial, mainly hinges on aggressive rhetoric and stringent immigration policies that fail to tackle the systemic issues fostering organized crime or effectively disrupt these transnational criminal groups. To truly combat this menace, we must progress beyond mere political gestures toward a more ambitious, comprehensive, and collaborative solution: a hemispheric judicial tribunal intentionally modeled after the historic ...
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Bolivia en un nuevo orden mundial: Realismo, liderazgo pragmático y el desafío democrático Presentación ante Executive Forums - REF. REF Eduardo A Gamarra, PhD Profesor de Política y Relaciones Internacionales Director del Foro de Opinión Pública Latina Director Asociado del Jack Gordon Institute Green School of International and Public Affairs Florida International University Vivimos en un momento en que la geopolítica mundial está atravesando profundas transformaciones que requieren una reflexión cuidadosa y pragmática sobre cómo países como Bolivia deberían posicionarse. En un contexto donde la llegada del presidente Donald Trump a la Casa Blanca ha renovado la importancia estratégica de América Latina dentro de la política exterior estadounidense, la región se encuentra nuevamente en el centro de una disputa geopolítica entre grandes potencias mundiales. Estados Unidos, China y Rusia hoy compiten activamente por esferas de influencia, haciendo...