The United States and Right-Wing Dictatorships, 1965-1989

Examining American policy towards right-wing dictatorships from the 1960s to the end of the Cold War.

David F. Schmitz (Author)

9780521861335, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 13 March 2006

272 pages
24.1 x 16.1 x 1.9 cm, 0.506 kg

"Schmitz's riveting account of U.S. support of right-wing dictatorships and its tragic consequences for democratic institutions at home and abroad, is indispensable reading for anyone seeking to understand American foreign policy and the contemporary challenges to democracy." Penny Von Eschen, University of Michigan

Building on Schmitz's earlier work, Thank God They're on our Side, this is an examination of American policy toward right-wing dictatorships from the 1960s to the end of the Cold War. During the 1920s American leaders developed a policy of supporting authoritarian regimes because they were seen as stable, anti-communist, and capitalist. After 1965, however, American support for these regimes became a contested issue. The Vietnam War served to undercut the logic and rationale of supporting right-wing dictators. By systematically examining US support for right-wing dictatorships in Africa, Latin America, Europe, and Asia, and bringing together these disparate episodes, this book examines the persistence of older attitudes, the new debates brought about by the Vietnam War, and the efforts to bring about changes and an end to automatic US support for authoritarian regimes.

1. No acceptable alternative: Mobutu in the Congo
2. Degrading freedom: the Johnson administration and right-wing dictatorships
3. Madmen: Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, and the quest for order
4. Morality and diplomacy: the church committee and post-Vietnam foreign policy
5. A fundamental tenet of foreign policy: Jimmy Carter and human rights
6. What is the alternative?: the Reagan doctrine and authoritarian regimes
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS], Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000 [HBLW3], History of the Americas [HBJK]