MIND THE DARIEN GAP
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Authors
Ocasio, Christian
Subjects
Panama border
Colombia border
Darien Gap
transportation
infrastructure
Pan-American Highway
indigenous
Colombia border
Darien Gap
transportation
infrastructure
Pan-American Highway
indigenous
Advisors
Nieto-Gomez, Rodrigo
Date of Issue
2021-03
Date
Publisher
Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
This thesis has a geopolitical focus, establishing U.S. interests and indigenous protectionism as factors that explain why the Darien Gap remains undeveloped. An analysis of U.S. influence on the development of the Darien Gap establishes a correlation between U.S. interests and the progress of constructing the Pan-American Highway and railroad across time and space. Heightened U.S. interest was influenced by the presence of extra-hemispheric threat in the Western Hemisphere and the timing correlated with the construction’s progression and obstruction. The lack of extra-hemispheric threat caused the decline of U.S. support for the infrastructure projects that would have otherwise developed the Darien Gap and gave political space and maneuverability for Panamanian indigenous groups to exert their political pressure and prevent the development of the Darien Gap. The research uncovers the amount of political power the Panamanian indigenous groups have in preventing infrastructure developments. In the end, the thesis proves these two hypotheses to be true: U.S. interest in the region and the Panamanian indigenous communities’ political power have prevented the development of infrastructure in the Darien Gap.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs (NSA)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funding
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Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release. distribution is unlimited
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.