The Democracy Perspective in the Americas

The Democracy Perspective in the Americas presents the author's views on the evolution of democracy in the American hemisphere and the challenges confronting this form of governance. It comprises a collection of his statements and published commentaries on the perspective of democracy from 1993 to 2008, while serving as Guyana's Ambassador to the United States at the Organization of American States (OAS) and in Venezuela. At the OAS, in particular, Ishmael was deeply involved in diplomatic discussions, in which he presented his perspective of the promotion and development of the democratic process at forums dealing with the organization's agenda. Since 2004, Ishmael has participated in numerous high-level meetings of the newly-established Union of South American Nations, enabling him to present a front-row view of the political, economic, social, and ideological challenges facing the advance of democracy and the integration of the South American nations.

Odeen Ishmael is currently the ambassador of Guyana to Venezuela. He previously served as his countrys ambassador to the United States and, simultaneously, as permanent representative to the Organization of American States (OAS) from 1993 to 2003. Since the 1970s, he has been a premier writer on the problems and perspectives of education in Guyana and the wider Caribbean region. He has written extensively on Guyanese history and culture as well as political developments in Latin America and the Caribbean.