COLD WAR IN THE AMERICAS

Required Reading

Smith,

Talons

, chs. 5-8 Holden and Zolov,

Latin America

: 68, 71, 106, 108, 109, 111 (on U.S. policy) 82, 86, 90, 96, 101, 115 (on Latin American responses)

On Other Assignments

Mid-term: •Study Guide to be distributed February 3 •Test during regular class time February 10 (6:00-7:30) •Papers returned February 17 Optional paper: •A question as well as a topic •Due Tuesday, March 2

PART I. THE U.S. AND THE COLD WAR

Credos: Ideology and Assumptions

1.

Bipolar conflict 2.

The need for “containment” 3.

Geopolitics, dominoes, and the Third World 4.

Marxism and the developing world

Defining U.S. Interests in Latin America: The Mantra of “National Security”

1. Raw materials?

2. Sea lanes?

3. Military bases?

4. Geopolitical advantage?

5. The virtues of “stability”

Shaping U.S. Policy

1. Monroe

redux

: cordoning off the Americas 2. Economic aid: the Alliance for Progress 3. Purging the body politic 4. Containing revolution: Guatemala (1954) Bay of Pigs (1961) Dominican Republic (1965) Chile (1973) Grenada (1983) Central America (1980s)

Reflections

1. Reality vs. ideology 2. Imagining alternatives (?) 3. On the language of “war”

PART II. LATIN AMERICA AS SUPERPOWER BATTLEGROUND

Introduction: What To Do?

•National goals: sovereignty and flexibility •Political interests: survival in power, weakening of rivals

Strategic Options: The Menu of Responses

1. Reformist: seeking U.S. aid 2. Radical: supporting revolution 3. Reactionary: joining the anti-communist crusade 4. “Non-aligned”: promoting Third World solidarity

The Cold War: Consequences for Latin America

1. Polarization, weakening of political center 2. Ascendancy of right-wing forces 3. Assaults upon the political left 4. Transitions toward democracy 5. Acknowledgement of U.S. hegemony