The Eisenhower administration and U.S. foreign and economic policy towards Latin America from 1953 to 1961

Teng, Yu-Cheng (2020). The Eisenhower administration and U.S. foreign and economic policy towards Latin America from 1953 to 1961. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

The thesis aims to examine Eisenhower’s foreign policy towards Latin America from 1953 to 1961. In order to win the Cold War, the leading bureaucrats were split over different approaches needed to achieve policy objectives in Latin America within the hierarchically regularized machinery- but it was not necessarily welcomed by every Latin American nation.

There were three problems with Eisenhower’s staff structuring arrangement towards Latin America: (a) politicization of U.S.-Latin American relations from 1953 to 1961 by senior U.S. bureaucrats with an anti-communism agenda for Latin American development; (b) neglect of Latin American requests for public funds before 1959; (c) bureaucratic conflicts over different methods to achieve foreign policy objectives, often resulting in tensions between policy and operations.

The bureaucratic approach limited U.S. understanding of Latin America, meaning (a) the National Security Council (NSC) advisory system could not meet stated ideals; (b) the American approach had limited applicability to Latin American societies; (c) tensions existed between U.S. ideals and political, economic and social realities in Latin American countries.

By examining the Foreign Relations of the United States volumes and Latin American literature, this thesis moves beyond the existing scholarship of U.S.-Latin American relations and provides a new appraisal of Eisenhower’s approach towards Latin America in the Cold War context.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):