Reagan and Pinochet The Struggle over US Policy toward Chile

This book is the first comprehensive study of the Reagan administration's policy toward the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile. Based on new primary and archival materials, as well as on original interviews with former US and Chilean officials, it traces the evolution of Reagan policy from an initial 'close embrace' of the junta to a re-evaluation of whether Pinochet was a risk to long-term US interests in Chile and, finally, to an acceptance in Washington of the need to push for a return to democracy. It provides fresh insights into the bureaucratic conflicts that were a key part of the Reagan decision-making process and reveals not only the successes but also the limits of US influence on Pinochet's regime. Finally, it contributes to the ongoing debate about the US approach toward democracy promotion in the Third World over the past half century.

Introduction; 1. In from the cold; 2. Turning the tide; 3. Dead ends in Chilean policy; 4. Changing tack; 5. Abandoning Pinochet; 6. Toward endgame; 7. Return to the fold; Conclusion.

Morris Morley is an Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Washington, DC. His books include Imperial State and Revolution: The United States and Cuba, 1952–1986, Washington, Somoza and the Sandinistas and, with Chris McGillion, Unfinished Business: America and Cuba after the Cold War, 1989–2001 and Cuba, the United States and the Post-Cold War World.
Chris McGillion coordinates the journalism program at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, Australia, and is a Senior Research Fellow at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Washington, DC. He is a former editorial-page editor for the Sydney Morning Herald.