Synopses & Reviews
Contrary to widespread expectation, the ending of the Cold War has not produced continuous harmony and cooperation in U.S.-Latin American relations. Instead, NAFTA seems to threaten as much as it promises; economic prospects have been shaken by the Mexican currency crisis; the "war on drugs" continues to escalate; and xenophobic reactions to the migration of Latin Americans into the United States, typified by California's Proposition 187, seize headlines and editorial pages.
Spanning almost two hundred years, Talons of the Eagle tells the turbulent story of U.S.-Latin American relations from the birth of the United States and the new Latin American nations through the Cold War to the present day. Focusing not on U.S. policy alone, but on the intricate network of relationships between the United States and its neighbors, Peter H. Smith sheds penetrating new light on trends and events in the Americas. Beginning with the balance-of-power politics of the nineteenth century and efforts by the United States to establish its own sphere of influence in the New World, Smith describes the complex interplay between U.S. expansionism and Latin American reactions, which varied from lofty visions of continental unity to vigorous expressions of nationalistic and cultural resistance. Later, during the Cold War, Washington waged unremitting campaigns to eradicate perceived Soviet influence in Latin America, often allying itself with dictators and despots. Covert and overt American operations ranged from numerous attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro to armed intervention in the Dominican Republic and the invasion of Grenada; faced by stark alternatives, many Latin Americans turned toward socialist revolution and/or the pursuit of Third World solidarity. In the aftermath of the Cold War, U.S.-Latin American relations have now become dominated by economic and social questions, from drug trafficking and drug wars to illegal immigration from countries such as Haiti and Mexico. What happens next will depend on the same factors that have shaped inter-American relations in the past: U.S. policy remains heavily influenced by global concerns and the international climate, while Latin American responses tend to reflect the unequal distribution pf power that prevails within the Western Hemisphere.
Blending analytical rigor with illuminating anecdote, Talons of the Eagle provides a highly readable and up-to-date account of U.S.-Latin American relations over the past two centuries and offers provocative insight into the future.
Review
"Guiding the careful pen that we have come to associate with his scholarship, Peter Smith has produced a book that not only traces the two-century evolution of U.S.-Latin American interaction, but also explains how this structure continues to influence policy makers and to circumscribe policy options in the post-Cold War era. Thorough, thoughtful, and provocative,
Talons of the Eagle is a compelling synthesis, filling a critical void in our generation's scholarship."--Lars Schoultz, William Rand Kenan, Jr. Professor of Political Science, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Review
"A well-written, provocative exploration of the relationship between Latin America and the United States since independence....An excellent overview."--Library Journal
"Peter H. Smith...has written a timely and valuable book that aptly recalls how Roosevelt's decade of the 1930s still stands out as 'a golden era of U.S. relations with Latin America.' He then expertly traces the decline of the region's importance since the Roosevelt era until it has become a mere appendage to the East-West conflict."--The Washington Post Book World
Review
"Guiding the careful pen that we have come to associate with his scholarship, Peter Smith has produced a book that not only traces the two-century evolution of U.S.-Latin American interaction, but also explains how this structure continues to influence policy makers and to circumscribe policy
options in the post-Cold War era. Thorough, thoughtful, and provocative, Talons of the Eagle is a compelling synthesis, filling a critical void in our generation's scholarship."--Lars Schoultz, William Rand Kenan, Jr. Professor of Political Science, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Synopsis
World events since 1989 have shattered long-held assumptions about the global international order and drastically reshaped relations between the United States and Latin America.
Talons of the Eagle presents a vivid portrayal of this rapidly changing relationship and casts important new light on contemporary issues such as economic integration, environmental protection, drug trafficking, and undocumented migration.
Smith's examination encompasses the imperialism of the late 18th and 19th centuries, ideological conflicts deriving from the Cold War, and the very recent surge of optimism and pessimism attending NAFTA and the emerging "new world order." From the early politics of U.S. expansion through the Cold War to the continuing "war on drugs," Smith provides a thoughtful and thorough evaluation of more than 200 years of turbulent history. By focusing on international systems, the distribution of power, and the perception and pursuit of national interests, Smith uncovers recurrent regularities in the resulting interaction between Latin America and the United States, makes available a compelling analysis of continuity and change, and offers provocative insight into portents for the future.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 357-363) and index.
About the Author
Peter H. Smith is Professor of Political Science, Simon Bolivar Professor of Latin American Studies, and Director of Latin American Studies at the University of California, San Diego. He is a prominent author, commentator, and advisor on Latin American politics and on U.S.-Latin American relations. His most recent books include pathbreaking studies on drug trafficking and regional integration. He is the co-author of
Modern Latin America (Fourth Edition, 1996).
Table of Contents
Introduction: International Systems and U.S.-Latin American Relations