Soviet Relations with Latin America, 1959–1987

by Nicola Miller

• ISBN13: 9780521359795
• ISBN10: 0521359791
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1990-02-23
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This book was first published in 1989. The Soviet presence and purposes in Latin America are a matter of great controversy, yet no serious study was hitherto combined with a regional perspective (concentrating on the nature and regional impact of Soviet activity on the ground) and diplomatic analysis, examining the strategic and ideological factors that influence Soviet foreign policy. Nicola Miller's lucid and accessible survey of Soviet-Latin American relations over the past quarter-century demonstrates clearly that existing, heavily 'geo-political' accounts distort the real nature of Soviet activity in the area, closely constrained by local political, social and geographical factors. In a broadly chronological series of case-studies Dr Miller argues that, American counter-influence apart, enormous physical and communicational barriers obstruct Soviet-Latin American relations and that the lack of economic complementarity imposes a natural obstacle to trading growth: even Cuba, often cited as 'proof' of Soviet designs upon the area, is only an apparent exception.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

The Soviet interest in Latin America

'Communist subversion' in Latin America? The impact of Marxist thought

Castro's Cuba - 'a gift to the Russians'? The Soviet-Cuban embrace, 1959-1962

The Soviet-Cuban balancesheet

'Socialism with red wine ...' Moscow and Chile's Popular Unity experiment

The Soviet Union and the major Latin American powers

The USSR and the Central American crisis

Conclusion

Appendix

Bibliography

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.