The United States’ success as a country, the consolidation of democracy, its ability to conquer a continent and then project massive power across the world, is due in part to its relationship with Latin America.

As the polymath author of the seminal book Guns, Germs and Steel Jared Diamond explained, geography is destiny. And the United States’ southern border, unlike those of France or Germany, for example, that have gone to war time and again, has created an unprecedented multi-century history of relative peace.

In this episode, Fernando explores this unique legacy with Benjamin Gedan. Gedan is director of the Wilson Center’s Latin America Program. He’s also an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University. Benjamin is a former South America director on the National Security Council at the White House, and he also served at the State and Treasury Departments focused on Latin American issues. 

Gedan is a former Fulbright scholar in Uruguay and earned a Ph.D. in foreign affairs from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.