Morris Morley

Contesting hegemons: US-French relations in the 'New World Order'

International relations is now marked by a distinct bias against both realism and materialism. This, allied to the currently fashionable notion that in a globalized, liberal economy cooperation rather than competition is the norm, has meant that few scholars have been concerned to analyse the sources of rivalry between the various capitalist states. This article suggests that a version of realism informed by a keen sense of power and hierarchy remains essential if we are to understand the dynamics of US foreign policy in the post-Cold War period. The case study deployed here revolves around the various attempts made by one of Americas allies to contest Washingtons vision of a ‘new world order’. The French challenge assumed many forms but in the end was seen off by the dominant state; the outcome only confirming US preponderance and guaranteeing its hegemonic position into the 21st century.

Disobedient generals and the politics of redemocratization: The Clinton administration and Haiti

U.S. policy toward political transitions in postwar Latin America has centered around the goal of securing regime changes that ensure the continuity of the state. This is true of Republican and Democratic administrations under both conservative and liberal presidents. While issues of democracy and dictatorship have remained secondary, the task of preserving the institutions of the state (civil bureaucracies, judiciaries, military and police, etc.) have taken priority. The level of Washingtons concern over challenges to the state has been incomparably greater than over changes in regime because the state, especially its coercive institutions, is perceived as the ultimate arbiter of power and guarantor of basic U.S. interests in these societies. Consequently, Washingtons policy toward the state in Latin America has remained constant; toward the regime it has been variable. Whether we are discussing Eisenhower policy toward Cuba, the Kennedy-Johnson approach toward the Dominican Republic and Brazil, Richard Nixons hostility toward Allendes Chile, Jimmy Carters policy toward Nicaragua and El Salvador, or Ronald Reagans support for redemocratization in Guatemala, the thread that linked them all was a singular determination to preserve key state institutions

The United States and the Global Economic Blockade of Cuba: A Study in Political Pressures on America's Allies

The aim of this study is to provide an empirical basis for theories about political coalitions formed to apply economic sanctions against a target country. An excellent example is the economic blockade of Cuba by the United States, during which successive Republican and Democratic administrations have pursued economic measures to achieve a political objective. This study investigates the degree of cooperation and cleavage among Washingtons capitalist-bloc allies with this effort to establish multilateral economic pressures against the Cuban Revolution. The analysis suggests that, despite the growth of economic competition during the 1960s and 1970s, such strains were not reflected at the level of political relationships.

Neo-liberal political cycles: Latin America ‘adjusts’ to poverty and wealth in the era of free markets

Abstract This essay addresses some of the major ‘transition’ debates engaging academics and political pundits in the field of Latin American studies. We can group the ‘transition debates’ into two broad interrelated categories: the ‘economic’ and the ‘political’.

The Ethiopian military state and Soviet-US involvement in the horn of Africa

This article focuses on the great power involvement in the region, especially insofar as it affects Ethiopia and its conflicts with Eritrea. It first characterises the military regime in Ethiopia as a form of ‘state capitalism’, conceived as a transitional and unstable formation becoming increasingly common in Third World countries struggling with the contradictions affecting their development in a period of capitalist crisis and declining US hegemony. On both sides, therefore, the relationship between Ethiopia and the USSR is opportunistically based on nothing more permanent than state‐to‐state relations. A survey of US calculations globally and in the region shows that despite the more aggressive stance of the Reagan administration the way is left open for a rapprochement with Ethiopia, an outcome made more likely given the Ethiopian regimes inability to seek anything other than a military solution in Eritrea and its incapability of achieving that.

The New Cold War: Reagan Policy Towards Europe and the Third World

To understand the reemergence of the Cold War, the breakdown of detente and the growing militarization of u.s. foreign policy and its implications for Third World liberation movements, we must first locate these issues in a historical and structural framework. Analysis of recent historical developments will allow us to understand the specific factors that facilitated detente, as well as the reasons for its breakdown: the argument that we will attempt to develop is that detente reflected a particular historical conjuncture that has been superseded. Reagan is less a cause of the end of detente, than a consequence of the interaction between structural interests and contextual challenges to imperial interests

Imperial State and Revolution: The United States and Cuba, 1952-1986.

Acknowledgments 1. The US imperial state: theory and historical setting 2. The United States in Cuba 1952-1958: policymaking and capitalist interests 3. The United States in Cuba 1959-1961: national-social revolution, state transformation, and the limits of imperial power 4. The United States against Cuba 1961-1968: politics of confrontation in Latin America 5. The United States against Cuba 1961-1980: intransigent policymaking and its consequences 7. The US imperial state: some final insights Epilogue Appendix Notes Bibliography Index.