The Failure of the Foreign Bondholders Protective Council Experiment, 1934–1940
This article explores the contentious U.S. State Department–Foreign Bondholders Protective Council relationship in the context of interwar foreign economic policy and bureaucratic competition. U.S. officials created the council in 1933 to represent the interests of U.S. investors in the settlement of the numerous dollar bond issues that had gone into default. The article shows why the council failed to perform as U.S. officials expected and outlines the process by which they increasingly interposed themselves in debt negotiations. In doing so, it considers the limitations of using private organizations to accomplish the objectives of public policy.
The Dictator Next Door: The Good Neighbor Policy and the Trujillo Regime in the Dominican Republic, 1930-1945
The question of how U.S. foreign policy should manage relations with autocratic governments, particularly in the Caribbean and Latin America, has always been difficult and complex. In "The Dictator Next Door" Eric Paul Roorda focuses on the relations between the U.S. and the Dominican Republic following Rafael Trujillo's seizure of power in 1930. Examining the transition from the non-interventionist policies of the Hoover administration to Roosevelt's Good Neighbour policy, Roorda blends diplomatic history with analyses of domestic politics in both countries not only to explore the political limits of American hegemony but to provide an in-depth view of a crucial period in U.S. foreign relations. Although Trujillo's dictatorship was enabled by prior U.S. occupation of the Dominican Republic, the brutality of his regime and the reliance on violence and vanity to sustain his rule was an untenable offence to many in the U.S. diplomatic community, as well as to certain legislators, journalists, and bankers. Many U.S. military officers and congressmen, however - impressed by the civil order and extensive infrastructure the dictator established -comprised an increasingly powerful Dominican lobby. What emerges is a picture of Trujillo at the centre of a crowded stage of international actors and a U.S. government that, despite events such as Trujillo's 1937 massacre of 12,000 Haitians, was determined to foster alliances with any government that would oppose its enemies as the world moved toward war. Using previously untapped records, privately held papers, and unpublished photographs, Roorda demonstrates how caution, confusion, and conflicting goals marked U.S. relations with Trujillo and set the tone for the ambivalent Cold War relations that prevailed until Trujillo's assassination in 1961. "The Dictator Next Door" will interest Latin Americanists, historians, political scientists, and specialists in international relations and diplomacy.
The Dictionary of Statistics
Mulhall's "Dictionary of Statistics", first published in 1883, is not only a standard work of reference for economists, but also a valuable tool for anyone studying almost any aspect of 19th-century life. Providing ample statistics information on a vast range of topics - ranging from agricultural, arms, charities, cheese, diet, disease, to insurance, land, marriage, shipping and prostitution - the "Dictionary" is illustrated throughout with clear tables, bar charts and several illustrations. Each of the large subjects is introduced with a conspectus or general table showing the figures approximately for each country every then years. This is followed by a more detailed description of each country, showing the official and non-official statements at successive epochs. Global in scope, there a few modern compilations that have been extensively used. Michael G. Mulhall (1836-1900) was a fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, whose work as a statistical compiler had already gained recognition through his works "The Progress of the World" and "The Balance Sheet of the World". This, the 3rd edition of 1892, vastly expands on the earlier editions and brings the statistical information up to date. Including an extensive bibliography and index, it should be a useful source for 19th century scholars.