Latin America Impacted by Global Cold War Essay

Introduction

The Cold War was unprecedented in world history when countries competed to accumulate military and political power. Groups that shared a common ideological orientation and claimed world supremacy was actively formed. Ideology was seen primarily as a distinguishing mark and a way to characterize the boundaries of influence. The Third World project in this context is of particular interest since this concept united countries that previously did not have a common denominator besides the colonialist past. This paper aims to discuss the conceptual positioning of Latin America in the context of the Global Cold War as the heart of the Third World.

Latin America in the Context of the Cold War

Bissio described interesting elements in the formation of the Third World concept. According to the author, the third world was seen as a neutralist space that had local features of radical non-alignment. This world was viewed by Western countries as “a structure created by political elites to achieve political goals” and also as “a doctrine of a pragmatic and practical foreign policy, not limited by geography.”¹ The author also proposed the perspective of the Third World as a rebellious and neutral space that was using the echoes of the Cold War rivalry for political and economic benefits.

In other words, the author defined the actual role of Latin America in the global context as a group of countries united by the ideas of political neutrality. Equally important, the author noted the consolidation of the third world based on “the inclusive ideological lines of worldwide anti-imperialism, and not solely on racial lines.”² More importantly, this quote implies the importance of the inclusive ideology that has united the states of Latin America.

In contrast to Western concepts, Chinese and Soviet perspectives were based on a racial and geographic definition of the Third World and did not resonate with the elites in North Africa and Latin America. Interestingly, countries with a socialist political order were called the Second World. At the same time, the Third World was considered politically neutral and began to be perceived as such with the beginning of a policy of cautious diplomatic neutrality in the 1940s.

Grandin highlights the important role of Latin America as a formative force and a new global player.³ He sees race and language as both opportunities and obstacles for anti-imperialist solidarity. The scholar also examines the intellectual acceptance of Latin American anti-imperialism by the Soviet Union in the 1920s and during the Cold War, noting the appeal to a common denominator of anti-American politics.

The role of Mexico was important in the formation of conceptual ideological forms. Brazinsky notes that Mexico and Latin America had a common reading of decades of anti-imperialist politico-economic practices and global post-colonial struggles against economic dependence and exploitation.⁴ In other words, the author adds to the global picture of countries united by the ideas of independence and anti-imperialism, characteristic of the period during and after the Cold War.

Conclusion

Thus, the conceptual positioning of Latin America in the context of the Global Cold War was discussed. The United States and Europe viewed the countries of Latin America more in terms of their unifying ideas of political neutrality, radical movements towards independence, and a basic, somewhat outdated concept of anti-imperialism. Notably, attempts by the Soviet Union and China to introduce elements of racial or geographical concepts as distinctive met with strong opposition among the elites, emphasizing the importance of ideology as a binding political force.

Bibliography

Bissio, Beatriz. “Bandung, the non-Aligned and the Media: The Role of the Journal “Third World” in South-South Dialogue.” AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy & International Relations 4, no. 8 (2015).

Brazinsky, Gregg. Winning the Third World: Sino-American Rivalry during the Cold War. Chapel Hill: the University of North Carolina Press, 2017.

Grandin, Greg. The Last Colonial Massacre: Latin America in the Cold War. University of Chicago Press, 2011.

Footnotes

1. Beatriz Bissio. “Bandung, the non-Aligned and the Media: The Role of the Journal “Third World” in South-South Dialogue.” AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy & International Relations 4, no. 8 (2015).
2. Beatriz Bissio. “Bandung, the non-Aligned and the Media” AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy & International Relations 4, no. 8 (2015).
3. Greg Grandin. The Last Colonial Massacre: Latin America in the Cold War. University of Chicago Press, 2011.
4. Gregg Brazinsky. Winning the Third World: Sino-American Rivalry during the Cold War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2017.