The Cold War in Latin America

For nearly fifty years, the Cold War was the dominant paradigm in international relations. What began as primarily as a confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States over the shape of post-war Europe ultimately affected developments as varied as decolonization, European integration, domestic politics, science and technology, and mass culture. No part of the world was unaffected – from North Korea to Argentina, from Alaska to Cape Town. Over the last twenty years, the field of Cold War history has consistently been one of the most vibrant in the field of international studies. The opening of archives in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union prompted historians to re-evaluate almost every aspect of the Cold War; our understanding of the world behind the curtain was also enhanced by the willingness of former participants to speak about their experiences or to put them down in memoirs. Equally as important, scholars from both sides of the Iron Curtain were now working in the field, drawing on each other’s archives, expertise, and perspectives.