Difficulties abound in any attempt to generalize about the role of ethnicity in foreign policy-making in the United States. First, some ethnic groups have become more influential than others. Second, those that have succeeded have seen their influence rise and fall, depending on multiple factors and circumstances. Still other groups, despite their increasing numbers, have yet to attempt to influence foreign policy. The Hyspanic experience in influencing foreign policy belongs to the last category. Several factors account for the limited Hispanic influence in foreign policy, such as their fragmentation and their lack of clout in domestic issues. Other factors are more specifically political and have to do with the fact that active involvement by Hispanics in politics has yet to come. The end of the Cold War has displaced security issues from the top of the foreign policy agenda of the United States. The overarching rationale granted by anti-communism is no longer available. Simultaneously, the Summit of th Americas, of December 1994, has recognized that economic issues, such as trade and investment, have hained ascendancy in the Hemispheric agenda. The primacy of economics in Hemispheric relations furnishes an opportunity for Hispanic business to participate more actively in trade and investment relatins in the Hemisphere. However, as revealed by the debate on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), trade and investment have proven to be very divisive issues for Hispaniccs. Consequently, the Hispanic business community, particularly those small and medium size companies that are already active in international trade and investment, will have to act deliberately to benefit from the opportunities that are emerging

Volume 23

Numbers 5-8