Routledge Latin American Guerrilla Movements: Origins, Evolution, Outcomes

Organized around single country studies embedded in key historical moments, this book introduces students to the shifting and varied guerrilla history of Latin America from the late 1950s to the present. It brings together academics and those directly involved in aspects of the guerrilla movement, to understand each country’s experience with guerrilla warfare and revolutionary activism. The book is divided in four thematic parts after two opening chapters that analyze the tradition of military involvement in Latin American politics and the parallel tradition of insurgency and coup effort against dictatorship. The first two parts examine active guerrilla movements in the 1960s and 1970s with case studies including Bolivia, Nicaragua, Peru, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. Part 3 is dedicated to the Central American Civil Wars of the 1980s and 1990s in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. Part 4 examines specific guerrilla movements which require special attention. Chapters include Colombia’s complicated guerrilla scenery; the rivalling Shining Path and Tupac Amaru guerrillas in Peru; small guerrilla movements in Mexico which were never completely documented; and transnational guerrilla operations in the Southern Cone. The concluding chapter presents a balance of the entire Latin American guerrilla at present. Superbly accessible, while retaining the complexity of Latin American politics, Latin American Guerrilla Movements represents the best historical account of revolutionary movements in the region, which students will find of great use owing to its coverage and insights. Review "This volume comes from the hand of three of the best researchers on revolutionary movements in Latin America. The time elapsed and the partial end of the last guerrilla violence in Colombia with the accumulated knowledge allow the rigorous research that is reflected in this book." Manuel Alcántara, Full Professor, University of Salamanca, Spain and Director of FLACSO Spain "A pioneering, comprehensive, analytical book on guerrillas / insurgency in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Cold War and the guerrillas set the way for political systems in the region and beyond. Counterinsurgency and guerrilla wars left narrow margins for democratic developments in Latin America between 1959 and 1990. A profound observation on twelve national cases. A new and excellent contribution from Dirk Kruijt, Eduardo Rey Tristán and Alberto Martín Álvarez." Francisco Rojas Aravena, Rector of the United Nations University for Peace, Costa Rica "The editors have compiled a well written and much needed comprehensive scholarly analysis of the Latin American revolutionary guerrilla movements that played a crucial role in the political history of the region in the 20th century. It is particularly important that they have acknowledged the seminal role played by Cuba in this process." Gary Prevost, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University, USA "This impressive collection of essays improves our understanding of the origins, evolution, and outcomes of Latin America’s guerrilla movements. The volume brings together a top-notch group of political scientists, historians, and sociologists from Latin America, the United States, and Europe, who have dedicated their professional lives to the study of the region’s New Left. It should be on everyone’s reading list." Michael E. Allison, Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science, The University of Scranton, USA "Nothing exemplifies the tensions and contradictions of Latin America’s quest for peaceful coexistence better than the history of the guerrilla movements that dominated its political life in the second part of the 20th century. Kruijt, Rey Tristán and Martín Álvarez have brought together a volume offering the most comprehensive overview so far of a phenomenon that in its origins, development, demise and aftermath expresses the troubled