US SECURITY COOPERATION WITH THE LATIN AMERICA COUNTRIES BEFORE AND AFTER J. BIDEN ADMINISTRATION CAME TO POWER*

This article is a continuation of a study begun in 2020 and devoted to the strategic and practical aspects of US military policy in Latin America at the present. The authors analyze the changes occurred in the US military policy towards Latin American countries under the influence of COVID-19 and after Joseph Biden has taken office. The current areas of cooperation between the United States and the region are considered, chiefly through the work of the US Southern Command. The authors highlight non-military security programs carried out by the State Department. They come round to thinking that there is an urgent need to redistribute resources for humanitarian missions due to their swelling importance for the vital interests of the United States in the region. At the same time, US military policy continues to be reduced to "combating drug trafficking, organized crime and illegal migration." Some of the last political steps taken by Washington in the region have aimed at stemming the Chinese and Russian sprawling influence. © 2021. All Rights Reserved.

THE U.S. MISSILE DEFENSE POLICY PERSPECTIVES DURING THE J. BIDEN ADMINISTRATION

The article provides an analysis of the state of affairs in the field of the U.S. missile defense, inherited by the Biden administration from the previous administration. The U.S. missile defense policy can be roughly divided into three components: homeland missile defense, regional missile defense, and advanced developments related to these both parts. Conclusions are made about the prospects of missile defense policy, taking into account such factors as the views of experts from think tanks close to the Democratic Party, funding of programs, and measures taken in the field of missile defense. The development of the homeland missile defense systems faces technological challenges which create uncertainty about the whole architecture. Regional missile defense systems are going to be platforms for development of systems to intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles and hypersonic weapons. The National Space Defense Architecture is planned to include layers which are supposed to he part of homeland and regional defenses. The main obstacles to these programs are the position of Democratic members of the U.S. Congress, an urgent need for funds for recovery of the national economy after the COVID-19 pandemic, and other defense policy priorities (e.g., nuclear modernization). In connection with these findings, the author presents an overview of options of a missile defense deal between Russia and the United States as part of the arms control regime. Although every option has its disadvantages and potential obstacles, a bilateral executive agreement on transparency in missile defense seems to be the most feasible option.