Thank God They're on Our Side: The United States and Right-Wing Dictatorships, 1921-1965

by David F. Schmitz

Book Overview

Despite its avowed commitment to liberalism and democracy internationally, the United States has frequently chosen to back repressive or authoritarian regimes in parts of the world. In this comprehensive examination of American support of right-wing dictatorships, David Schmitz challenges the contention that the democratic impulse has consistently motivated U.S. foreign policy.
Compelled by a persistent concern for order and influenced by a paternalistic...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807847739
• ISBN13: 9780807847732
• Release Date: May 1999
• Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

a must-read

For anyone who wants to cut through the lies of 'just wars' and 'global cop' or 'the US supports democracy and freedom,' this book is essential. A long, close look at US foreign policy, based mostly on primary sources (presidential libraries), the book tells in the words of the decision-makers the prejudices guiding these wise men directing the course of 'democracy.' Mussolini, the Shah of Iran, Batista, et al., all 'our' allies despite the fact of democratically-elected governments the US had to push out of the way to make way for the strong-arm despots. Schmitz makes a good case that this was all due to paternalism (those little brown/yellow people aren't ready for democracy; anti-communism (the democratically-elected gov'ts the US replaced with dicators generally desired agrarian reform); and simple racism (see paternalism). They didn't teach me this stuff in school . . . A great bibliography represents long, hard scholarship, and the index makes this a great reference work.