The Role of Regional Hemispheric Coalitions in Resolving Post-Election Impasses: A Review of the OAS Intervention in the 2017 Honduran Crisis

Global Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies | Vol. 9, No. 12, December 2018 | pp. 1000–1008

DOI: 10.46882/2018/GJPCS/091201

Article Type: Original Research Paper

Title: The Role of Regional Hemispheric Coalitions in Resolving Post-Election Impasses: A Review of the OAS Intervention in the 2017 Honduran Crisis

Authors: Carlos M. Fuentes¹, Elena Rostova²

Authors’ Affiliations: ¹Department of International Relations, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras; ²Department of International Relations, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom

Abstract:
This study critically analyzes the diplomatic efficacy and structural limitations of the Organization of American States (OAS) during the institutional crisis following the November 2017 Honduran presidential election. Utilizing executive policy-discourse analysis alongside key informant interviews with regional electoral observers, we evaluate how competing geopolitical alignments among member states fractured the coalition's mediation mandate. The empirical findings reveal that the initial findings of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission, which flagged widespread statistical anomalies and called for new elections, were undermined by unilateral state declarations from prominent hemispheric powers. Quantitative tracking models establish that the resulting diplomatic impasse and delayed institutional consensus correlated with a 45% increase in localized civil demonstrations and state security crackdowns. The paper demonstrates that regional mediation networks fail to resolve internal constitutional crises when structural mechanisms lack binding judicial enforcement or independent multilateral validation metrics. We conclude that sustainable electoral peacebuilding in Latin America requires transforming regional monitoring bodies from advisory panels into autonomous organizations with the legal power to implement binding arbitration frameworks during contested transitions.

Keywords: OAS; Honduran Crisis; Electoral Observation; Regional Coalitions; Diplomatic Mediation; Constitutional Impasse

Manuscript Timeline: Received: June 02, 2018; Revised: August 12, 2018; Accepted: September 20, 2018; Published: December 15, 2018

Citation: Fuentes, C. M., & Rostova, E. (2018). The Role of Regional Hemispheric Coalitions in Resolving Post-Election Impasses: A Review of the OAS Intervention in the 2017 Honduran Crisis. Global Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, 9(12), 1000–1008. DOI: 10.46882/2018/GJPCS/091201

Subscribe to read the full article: https://internationalscholarsjournals.org/subscribe-to-read