Examining how the Cuban Revolution dictated Latin American politics and U.S.-Latin American relations from the 1950s to the present, this fourth edition engages with the question: is the Cuban Revolution dead?Fidel Castro's ascent to power and the revolution he led in Cuba not only catalyzed a wave of revolutionary activity; it also set off a wave of reaction that led to widespread military dictatorships and severe repression culminating in state terrorism. Both re...

Universal human rights standards were adopted in 1948, but in the 1970s and 1980s, violent dictatorships in Argentina and Chile flagrantly defied the new protocols. Chilean general Augusto Pinochet and the Argentine military employed state terrorism in their quest to eradicate Marxism and other forms of “subversion.” Pinochet constructed an iron shield of impunity for himself and the military in Chile, while in Argentina, military pressure resulted in laws preventing prosecution for past h...

Set in the larger context of the evolution of international human rights, this cogent book examines the tragic development and ultimate resolution of Latin America's human rights crisis of the 1970s and 1980s. Thomas Wright focuses especially on state terrorism in Chile under General Augusto Pinochet (1973–1990) and in Argentina during the Dirty War (1976–1983). The author probes the background of these regimes, the methodology of state terrorism, and the human rights movements that emerge...

This book offers an innovative, thematic approach to the history of Latin America since independence. It traces continuity and change in colonial legacies that became central political issues following independence: authoritarian governance; a rigid social hierarchy based on race, color, and gender; the powerful Roman Catholic Church; economic dependency; and the large landed estate. Generally, liberals have sought to modify or abolish these legacies in the interest of what they consider p...

Beneath the glitzy surface of the resorts and the seemingly cookie-cutter suburban sprawl of Las Vegas lies a vibrant and diverse ethnic life. People of varied origins make up the population of nearly two million and yet, until now, little mention of the city has been made in studies and discussion of ethnicity or immigration. The Peoples of Las Vegas: One City, Many Faces fills this void by presenting the work of seventeen scholars of history, political science, sociology, anthro...

A groundbreaking look at the future of great power competition in an age of globalization and what the United States can do in responseThe two decades after the Cold War saw unprecedented cooperation between the major powers as the world converged on a model of liberal international order. Now, great power competition is back and the liberal order is in jeopardy. Russia and China are increasingly revisionist in their regions. The Middle East appears to be unraveling. And many Americ...

"A History of Caricature and Grotesque in Literature and Art" by Thomas Wright explores the evolution of caricature and grotesque art forms throughout history. The book delves into how these artistic expressions have been used to comment on society, politics, and human nature. Wright examines various artists and their works, highlighting the interplay between humor and critique. Through detailed analysis, he illustrates how caricature serves as a mirror reflecting societal norms and absurd...

The Worship of the Generative Powers by Thomas Wright

‘I would like to share with you what I saw.’The old international order is over, and a competition is underway to determine what comes next. Inflection Point is an insider account of how the Biden administration handled global crises and what is to come under Trump and beyond. Written by a senior member of President Biden’s National Security Council, this book argues there are now two Americas – one internationalist and the other America First – that will compete with each...

2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of General Pinochet’s coup on September 11, 1973. During the wave of mass arrests, torture, and executions that followed, people began fleeing Chile. Over the next fifteen years some two hundred thousand Chileans sought exile in countries around the world. Out of their anguish and anger come these moving and powerful testimonies of their fractured lives—the first oral history of the Chilean diaspora, now revised and updated.Many who fled had been...

RICHARD PAYNE KNIGHT has written with great learning on the origin and history of the worship of Priapus among the ancients. This worship, which was but a part of that of the generative powers, appears to have been the most ancient of the superstitions of the human race, 1 has prevailed more or less among all known peoples before the introduction of Christianity, and, singularly enough, so deeply it seems to have been implanted in human nature, that even the promulgation of the Gospel did ...

THE Author of the following Letters having been flattered into a Belief, that they may probably prove of some Use, or at least Amusement to the World, he has ventured to give them, at the Request of his Friends, to the Publick. His chief Design will be found an Attempt towards solving the Phænomena of the Via Lactea, and in consequence of that Solution, the framing of a regular and rational Theory of the known Universe, before unattempted by any. But he is very sensible how difficult a Tas...