Reagan and Pinochet: The Struggle Over U.S. Policy Toward Chile

This book is the first comprehensive study of the Reagan administration's policy toward the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile. Based on new primary and archival materials, as well as on original interviews with former U.S. and Chilean officials, it traces the evolution of Reagan policy from an initial "close embrace" of the junta to a reevaluation of whether Pinochet was a risk to long-term U.S. interests in Chile and, finally, to an acceptance in Washington of the need to push for a return to democracy. It provides fresh insights into the bureaucratic conflicts that were a key part of the Reagan decision-making process and reveals not only the successes but also the limits of U.S. influence on Pinochet's regime - centered around the challenge of creating a viable civilian alternative that was acceptable to both the junta and Washington. Finally, it contributes to the ongoing debate about the U.S. approach toward democracy promotion in the Third World over the past half century.

Author: Morris Morley, Chris McGillion
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 02/02/2015
Pages: 354
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.90w x 1.60d
ISBN: 9781107458093


Review Citation(s):
Choice 08/01/2015

About the Author
McGillion, Chris: - Chris McGillion coordinates the journalism program at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, Australia, and is a Senior Research Fellow at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Washington, DC. He is a former editorial-page editor for the Sydney Morning Herald.Morley, Morris: - Morris Morley is an Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Washington, DC. His books include Imperial State and Revolution: The United States and Cuba, 1952-1986, Washington, Somoza and the Sandinistas and, with Chris McGillion, Unfinished Business: America and Cuba after the Cold War, 1989-2001 and Cuba, the United States and the Post-Cold War World.