Encountering US empire in socialist Venezuela : the legacy of race, neocolonialism, and democracy promotion / Timothy M. Gill.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gill, Timothy M., (author).

Series:

Pitt Latin American series.

Pitt Latin American series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Chávez Frías, Hugo.

Democratization--Venezuela.

Democratization.

Opposition (Political science)--Venezuela.

Opposition (Political science).

United States--Foreign relations--Venezuela.

United States.

United States--Politics and government--1989-.

Venezuela--Foreign relations--United States.

Venezuela.

Venezuela--Politics and government--1999-.

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania : University of Pittsburgh Press, [2022]

Summary:

"Since the end of World War II, the United States has come to dominate the world economically and politically, leading many to describe the United States as an empire. Scholars have analyzed how the US government has worked through international financial institutions, its Central Intelligence Agency, and outright warfare to achieve its will. In this book, Timothy M. Gill spotlights how the US government also worked through democracy promotion to undermine governments abroad, including in Venezuela. President Hugo Chávez, who ruled from 1999 until his death in 2013, was among the democratically elected Latin American state leaders who embraced socialism and challenged the idea of US global power. Gill shows how US government agencies funded and trained opposition parties and activists, and how such intervention often was justified in neocolonial and racist terms. Through analysis of documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, embassy cables, and interviews with US government and Venezuelan nonprofit members, Gill details such operations and the imperial thinking behind them." -- Publisher's description.

Contents:

Introduction. US empire in the twenty-first century

The rise of Hugo Chávez and the evolution of US-Venezuelan relations

Theoretical perspectives on US democracy assistance

Understanding Venezuelans, understanding Chávez : the endurance of racist-imperialist mentalities

Coaching opposition political parties I : the International Republican Institute

Coaching opposition political parties II : the National Democratic Institute

Promoting free market economics and traditional labor unions in Chávez's Venezuela

Funding anti-Chávez voices in civil society : the National Endowment for Democracy

Transforming Chavistas, encouraging protest : the US Agency for International Development in Venezuela

Chávez responds : terminating foreign funding for political parties and NGOs

Conclusion. Making theoretical sense of US democracy assistance efforts in Venezuela.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780822989165

0822989166

9780822947448

0822947447

OCLC:

1352625847