This paper reviews the books "Bitter Fruit: The Untold Story of the American Coup in Guatemala" by S. Schlesinger and S. Kinzer and "Modern Latin America" by T. E. Skidmore and P. H. Smith.
Abstract The paper examines "Bitter Fruit: The Untold Story of the American Coup in Guatemala" by Stephen Schlesinger and Stephen Kinzer and "Modern Latin America" by Thomas E. Skidmore and Peter H. Smith as they relate to the Guatemalan coup of 1954. The paper explores the role of the United Fruit Company (UFC) in the coup that overturned the legitimate Arbenz government of Guatemala in 1954, the CIA role in this affair and the UFC's relationship with the U.S. State Department and with the Guatemalan workers.
From the Paper "How many Americans know that the United States Government directly and dramatically interfered with the internal affairs of a sovereign nation (Guatemala) in 1954? And it wasn't a matter of small-time inference, but in fact the American CIA installed a dictator friendly to the U.S., and ousted the existing Arbenz administration. Probably few Americans also realize that this action in Guatemala was not a unique moment in U.S. interference in foreign nation's internal affairs. Indeed, the CIA had orchestrated and carried out a coup in Iran on August 19, 1953. The CIA installed the Shah of Iran into power thanks to a plan called "Operation Ajax" authorized by President Dwight Eisenhower and directed by the same men who carried out the coup against the legitimate government of Guatemala - brothers John Foster Dulles (Secretary of State) and Allen Dulles (CIA Director). The Iranian coup was fully explained in a book called All the Shaw's Men by Stephen Kinzer, the same author who co-wrote Bitter Fruit."
Tags: CIA, foreign, policy, Dulles, Eisenhower, Shah, Iran, Arbenz, government
Abstract This paper compares two perspectives on the Pakistani military coup of 1958. One is the fictional interpretation of the leaders' meetings, as told by Salman Rushdie in his novel "Midnight's Children" from the perspective of an 11-year-old boy. The other is the more traditional, politically thorough, multiple-perspective retelling in Ian Talbot's "Pakistan: a Modern History".
Abstract Still present in modern day, discontent amongst lower class Chileans has been existent since the Spanish Conquest and the first imbalances of power. It has grown, evolved and has seemed to become the catalyst of change in Chilean society and politics. The paper shows that Chile's history of politics has not been a clear one; bouncing around from left to right, from one form of political dictatorship to another, it has overcome countless incapable leaders and corrupt governments but has also suffered innumerable losses. The paper shows that the military coup that toppled the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende on September 11, 1973 and initiated a regime of terror under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet was the result of numerous economic and political factors that united to cause the bloodiest day in Chile's modern history.
From the Paper "As Allende was working for the people and against capitalism, the States was working against him. As the Cold War progressed throughout the world, the United States was on an anti-communist mission to prevent any social movement that would cause disruption in their capitalistic plans and feared any country that had a large number of these supporters. As a result of the increase in real income for the mass of Chilean workers, monetary expansion stimulated a stagnant economy, which caused higher inflation . When copper prices began to fall, the United States made the move to kick Allende when he was down."
Abstract This paper discusses the leadership Chief Plenty Coups of the Crow Indians. The author relates his including life, pre-reservation and on the reservation. The paper describes his fight to obtain Crow Indian rights from the U.S. government.
From the Paper "Chief Plenty Coups of the Crow was born in the son of Medicine Bird and his wife Otter Woman. Chief Plenty Coups was named by his father as he had a dream that his son would count many coups live to an old age and become a chief ... of Plenty-Coups. All of these premonitions would be realized by Chief Plenty Coups and while he was instrumental in helping the Crow in battles against other ...."
Tags: Custer, Little Big Horn, education, ranching, farming, warrior, WWI, Crow Act 1920, Native Americans, unknown soldier, Congress, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Lakota Sioux, Montana, land rights
Abstract This paper examines the role that the US government played in the Iranian coup of 1953 which overthrew Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh. The paper explains why the details were not released until 2000 and analyzes how the overthrow was a turning point in modern Iranian history.
From the Paper "In the New York Times, they published an extensive article outlining the role of the US Central Intelligence Agency in the overthrow of the Iranian government of Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh, a leading proponent of nationalizing the oil industry in Iran. It had long been known that the American and British governments were behind the coup which restored the Shah Mohammed Reza Pazhlavi to power."
Tags: CIA, British government, US Government, Mohammed Mossadegh
Abstract This paper is written in the form of a memo to Henry Kissinger. The paper lays out the recent history of the U.S. policy toward the socialist leadership of Chile. It then provides several arguments as to why support for the coup in Chile was in the best interest of the U.S at the time it was written.
From the Paper "These policies have been partially successful in creating social unrest and displeasure with the Chilean socialist government among the citizens and workers of that nation, although a rebellion against the government by the masses is unlikely. The economic failures of the socialist economy have been especially detrimental to the working class, which suffers from low wages and poor working conditions, further undermining the credibility of the socialist reforms imposed by Allende and contributed to civil unrest in the nation."
Abstract This paper discusses Thailand under the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. It discusses how Shinawatra's government represented Thailand's best hope for a stable democratic process and how that hope that was dashed with the military coup that occurred in 2006. The paper also discusses the background to the coup and its impact on Thailand.
From the Paper "Thaksin Shinawatra was one of the most popular politicians that Thailand has ever seen. His populist positions on politics in the nation and liberal political philosophy earned him significant respect and admiration both from his constituents as well as from the international community. However, the authority and legitimacy that the democratic government garnered during his tenure as prime minister stood as a direct threat to the military and to the monarchy. His critics were vocal, but unwilling to debate his politics and decisions in the public forum. The democratic government that had been created with the adoption of a new constitution in 1997 became stronger everyday that Shinawatra remained in office, proving that the voting public could decide their own leaders. The military coup that began in September 2006 shattered the stability of democracy in Thailand and, to some degree, in all of Southeast Asia. Shinawatra's democratic government represented the best hope for a democratic future for the country, a future now imperiled by a military power-grab."
Abstract This paper profiles a typical Latin American revolution and examines why these countries are so susceptible to these uprisings. It addresses the historical, social & cultural variables of a revolution and the possible moves to democracy. It also examines a few of the successful Latin American democracies and asks what makes them prosper.
From the Paper "Revolution is a sudden, forcible change of the political and social order often accompanied by violence, in which a significant section (not always a majority) of the population participates. Revolution usually occurs when a general climate of discontent exists in a society. A modern historian, Craine Brinton, has analyzed the conditions in a society ripe for revolution and saw a pre-Revolutionary society as ?having a combination of social and political tensions, caused by a gradual breakdown of the values of a society.?"
Abstract Ambrose Bierce successfully de-glamorized war by depicting the grueling realities of battle in an era when war was deemed romantic. The paper describes the story and introduces the main character. The paper analyzes the use of nature in the short story and shows how counting and numbers are used to project the detached tone throughout the setting. The paper demonstrates how a transition is made in the story from one of detachment to one of emotion.
Table of Contents:
Title
Introduction
Use of Descriptors in the Setting
Main Character
Nature
Transition: Detachment to Emotion
Resolution
Conclusion
From the Paper "In his detached style, Bierce relays a story describing the horrors of war after battle. He uses words like "tidying up a bit" to downplay the carnage in the first scene of The Coup De Grace. The narrator's voice is far removed. The attitude is nonchalant, yet the images are gruesomely spectacular. Bodies strewn about are treated with acute indifference."
Abstract On 13 September 1923, General Miguel Primo de Rivera launched a successful and bloodless coup d'etat, beginning seven years of dictatorship in Spain. Primo de Rivera was a maladroit politician filled with the fervor of Spanish patriotism thought sufficient to navigate his dictatorship through the murky waters of politics. This paper will argue that the regime was more of a developmental dictatorship than one based in the usual fundamentals of autocracy. It concerns itself instead with describing the political realities in which the Primo de Rivera dictatorship was based, before moving on to discuss the objectives and achievements of the regime. The paper concludes by suggesting ways in which the dictatorship may have influenced the cataclysmic developments that drew the nation into Civil War less than a decade after the collapse of the Primo de Rivera regime.
Abstract This paper will explain the important points that are brought up in the book "Bitter Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala" by Stephen E. Schlesinger. By analyzing the policies that are so much a part of this imperial struggle in the Central American conflict, we can see how this would compare to the Eisenhower policy that was so much a part of earlier relationship with Guatemala in the understanding in this arena. In this book, we can understand how the authors convey a message of American policy on both fronts.
Abstract The military has the monopoly of force and is the most organized
sector of a state's employees. The chance of a coup and subsequently a
military government is far more likely if the country is suffering
from internal strife and this has been the pattern for many developing
and post colonial nations. This paper attempts to prove this by using three examples of military governments after 1945, Egypt, Spain and Brazil.
From the Paper "In order to understand the underlying problems in the countries in which the military took over and formed a new government it is important to briefly outline the conditions that allowed them to take power and how they did this. This will give an insight into what tasks faced the new military regimes. In Egypt the take over was led by General Nasser who was leader of the Free Officers Movement. This movement was dedicated to overthrowing the British backed King Farouk. In July 1952 Nasser led the military coup against Farouk."
Abstract This paper reviews the book, "Shattered Hope: The Guatemalan Revolution and the United States, 1944-1954" written by author Piero Gleijeses. The paper explores the insightful and often painful journey into a world of betrayal, greed, death and ultimately, tragedy. The paper portrays the book as a sad saga of what might have been and states how even the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) can make grave mistakes and miscalculate the outcome of overthrowing a foreign government. The paper contends that Gleijeses presents readers with a thoroughly researched and meticulous look at the sinister forces that actively participated in the overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz in 1954, as well as the impact the invasion had on Guatemalan politics and society.
Outline
Introduction
The Coup Players in the Coup United Fruit Company
Carlos Castillo Armas
The American Press
The Historical Legacy of the Coup
From the Paper "United Fruit Company, with its platoon of influential lobbyists and talented publicists - including the CIA - was largely responsible for engineering the overthrow of Arbenz in 1954. Dwight Eisenhower was president and he led an administration laden with powerful businessmen and other prominent people. According to author Gleijeses, many of these people were friends of UFC. On page 361, Gleijeses writes: "Foster Dulles had been senior partner in the law firm that had represented UFC. His deputy, Walter Bedell Smith, was toying with the idea of taking a job with UFC (which he indeed did when he retired in 1955)." "The assistant secretary for Latin America was a Cabot, as was the ambassador to the United Nations - and Cabots were major UFC stockholders. Eisenhower's personal secretary, Ann Whitman, was the wife of UFC's director of public relations.""
Abstract This paper discusses Stephen Kinzer's 2003 book "All The Shah's Men An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror". The author points out that it is an account of the 1953 coup engineered by the CIA that installed the Shah of Iran in power for 25 years until the 1979 revolution.
From the Paper "This book puts the twenty-first-century condition of the United State sand the Middle East into historical perspective. It helps explain the origin ..."
Tags: Shah, Iran, Mossadegh, CIA, Cold, War, Antony, Eden
Abstract This very extensive paper studies the political makeups of Switzerland, Nigeria, Malaysia, and the Former Yugoslavia. These are all countries with very diverse cultural and ethnic groups. After an analysis of each country's federal system, the ethnic group and political attitudes to this phenomena are discussed and compared.
From the paper:
"For over seven hundred years, Switzerland has explored the meanings of federalism. While it is an ethnically and religiously diverse nation, there are no calls for secession, and no terrible tribal or racial wars. It is a successful, even wealthy nation, with excellent public services and public satisfaction. So impressive has been its record of peace, democracy, and fair governance that for better or worse it has literally spawned legends. This long and proud history, coupled with the nations seeming invulnerability to internal and external strife, make it perhaps the most ideal of modern nations for any survey of working federal systems."
