1st Edition

An International History of South America in the Era of Military Rule Geared for War

    Based on research conducted in archives in six countries, An International History of South America in the Era of Military Rule: Geared for War offers a detailed account of the tensions and fears of war that engulfed South America in the 1970s, when most countries of the region were ruled by military governments. Scholars of contemporary history and international relations, graduate and undergraduate students of Latin American history, and anyone interested in issues of international history will gain from reading this book, which explores the long-standing territorial controversies that underlay international rivalries, the incidence of military thinking in them, and the multifarious effects of the international order of the Cold War in the rise of tensions in South America in the era of military rule. Since war did not break out in South America in the 1970s, the book also stands as a study of the reasons why peace prevailed, even under conditions that seemed conducive to its demise.

    As a study based on multiarchival research, the book offers an original narrative and analysis of a topic scarcely treated by scholarly literature on the history of South America in the twentieth century, which makes it useful and interesting for audiences in various countries of the region.

    Introduction. 1. State, Territory, and War in South America 2. South America in the Cold War 3. The Embers Rekindle: Chile and Peru (1968–1973) 4. The Pinochet Dictatorship and the Rise of Tensions in South America (1973–1974) 5. Winds of War, Diplomatic Maneuvers (1974) 6. The Search for a New Regional Equilibrium and the Specter of Human Rights Violations (1975–1976) 7. A New Wave of Tensions (1976–1978) 8. To the Brink of War and Back: The Beagle Channel Dispute (1977–1979). Conclusion.

    Biography

    Sebastián Hurtado-Torres (1982), Ph.D. in history from Ohio University, is a professor at the history department of Universidad San Sebastián, Santiago, Chile. He is the author of The Gathering Storm: Eduardo Frei’s Revolution in Liberty and Chile’s Cold War (2020) and several articles on the international history of Chile and South America published in journals such as The International History Review, the Journal of Cold War Studies, and others.

    Joaquín Fermandois (1948), Ph. D. in history from Universidad de Sevilla, is a professor at the history department of Universidad San Sebastián, in Santiago, Chile. He is the author of Mundo y fin de mundo: Chile en la política mundial, 1900-2004 (2005), La revolución inconclusa: la izquierda chilena y el gobierno de la Unidad Popular (2013), and many other books and articles on the political and international history of Chile.