In a broad way, the main intention of this study is an attempt to analyze the changes the diplomatic competition between China and Taiwan in Latin America has brought to all the involved parties. How this competition have concentrated in just a few countries serving as Taiwan last stand hold against Chinese attempts to isolate it in the international community during the last three decades. The aim is to understand the whole evolution and dynamics of this great Asian issue elucidated in Latin America, and the way both China and Taiwan have behave to attract the favor of those small Latin American countries while those Latin American countries have also came to profit from this situation. Both, China and Taiwan have an almost symbiotic relationship with Latin America, relationship to become more and more important if current geopolitical and economic conditions were to continue. One side, Both China and Taiwan demand a great amount of Latin American natural resources to fuel their global industry. On the other side, Latin America demands more and more of the finished goods produced in China and Taiwan. The main research question the author will attempt to solve here is: ¡§Why are Latin American states shifting or considering shifting to China?¡¨ complementary questions intended to shed some light on the author¡¦s original assumptions are that Chinese economic growth is not the only explanation for Latin America¡¦s support of China. These questions are as follow: ¡§Does Latin American States perceive China as a threat? Has US double standard contributed to Taiwan losing its Latin American partners? Has Taiwanese implementation of Dollar diplomacy methods in some Latin American states something to do with its losing of supporters? A throughout analysis of both, the Chinese economic and geopolitical reach as well as Latin American¡¦s own search for economic, political and ideological independence from US are the main explanatory for the changes observed in this triangular relationship. Nevertheless, a series of unorthodox foreign policy methods such as ¡¥Dollar Diplomacy¡¦ conditioned foreign aid, have also contributed to these changes.

Abstract This thesis explores the influence of masculinity in twentieth century American foreign policy through examining the career of Guy “Machine Gun” Molony. Molony was an Irish American mercenary from New Orleans, whose career saw the transformation of Honduras from a banana republic to a recipient of dollar diplomacy. Unlike the majority of mercenaries who did not use their experience to build successful careers, Molony made a name for himself in American newspapers, becoming respected and even feared by policemen and politicians. His life tells a fascinating tale of the individual male in American foreign policy, where rebellious youth used war and instability to create heroic images of themselves. This thesis argues that the U.S. State Department borrowed from the independent mercenary model, building on a foundation laid out by men like Molony to implement dollar diplomacy. Guy Molony’s career is a telling example of how perceived ideas of manhood carried imperial intentions during the era of manifest destiny and the Monroe Doctrine. Although scholars tend to focus on Western expansion when examining the ideology of manifest destiny, this thesis explores how mercenaries like Guy Molony, followed by the U.S. State Department, continued to look southward to Central America as a means for American expansion.

Since China launched open door policy of economic reform in 1978, China has registering a sustained economic growth, which made it one of the worlds¡¦leading economies, also became the world's third biggest economy. Since late 1980s, China has not only became the world factory, with huge market, cheap labor force, and the main destination of foreign direct investments, but also became a world class political power whose influence is continuously growing in Asia and all over the world. China has also paid much attention to Africa region Since 1950s. China provided grant, interest-free loan, and low-interest loan to African nations at that time. After 1980s, in order to promote the share in common with Africa, China gradually took reform in foreign aid institutions and foreign aid management systems in various forms. After the end of the Cold-War, the foreign aid concept within western nations had put more focus on the development and cooperation. China was also deeply influenced by this trend; as a result, it led to the normalization of ¡§South-South Cooperation¡¨. In this research, the author analyses the development and strategies of China's Africa foreign aid policy, and tries to examine China's methods and objectives under the international political and economic new order. The result reveals that while China pursuing the political and economic interests through the foreign aid, it must be exchanged with African nations so that the internal and external of foreign aid project could move forward. The establishment of FOCAC in 2000 was a three year of frameworks and goals for Sino-Africa in relative cooperation areas. China published the ¡§China's Africa Policy¡¨ in January 2006, who also declared to establish a new strategic partnership relations with African nations. It was also a dollar diplomacy competing era between China and Taiwan since 1990s, and China tried to aid every African nation diplomatic ally in order to prevent other African nations from establishing relationships with Taiwan.

American Foreign Policy at the outset of the Twentieth century evolved from a realist to an idealist position as the United States transitioned to an imperial power. This ideal framework was formed in the crucible of China during the Spheres of Influence and the Open Door. The US had to play delicate game of helping China to maintain their territorial, and administrative integrity while at the same time protecting their newly acquired overseas interests against more established imperial actors. While there were many missteps, and failures during this transition perhaps the most the important result was the change toward the approach of US foreign policy. Not only did the United States have to balance realist geo-political goals, but it had to define what an imperial United States looked like. In a sense the United States was starting from scratch, processing to a completely different game and in order to be successful it had evolve.

大部分的台灣援助研究討論台灣外交政策，沒有太多的研究是從受援者的觀點探討台灣的發展協助成效。本研究將檢視台灣援助的西班牙語學術論文， 選擇一個個案研究，並從事訪談，以中美洲的觀點來闡述台灣援助的成效。且將分析台灣的 外交援助，特別是財團法人國際合作發展基金會從1998年到2015年在中美洲的策略。本研究質疑由國際社會先前 對台灣在中美洲的金錢外交探索，相反地，本研究將評估儘管中美洲有貪污醜聞，台灣援助在中美洲仍是有利的原因。