Falling Friends: The United States And Regime Change Abroad

By: Martin Staniland

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Synopsis: For U.S. policymakers, the collapse of governments headed by "good friends of the United States" has been, over the past thirty years, a repeated cause of alarm and embarrassment. Such crises of succession have implications not only for U.S. foreign policy but also for recent and forthcoming changes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Martin Staniland draws together extended case studies illustrating regime change and shows how each crisis resembles the others in its phases of development—from the status quo to the "attack" phase and, ultimately, to negotiating the succession. In the process, students get to know the history, culture, and personalities involved from Batista and Eisenhower to Marcos and the Reagan administration. As in every volume in the Case Studies in International Affairs series, this volume opens with an introduction that taps into current theoretical debates in international relations while giving students a framework for understanding and comparing the cases that follow. Individual introductions to each case place the study in context, and discussion questions and exercises are strategically interjected throughout to encourage students to explore the issues and to assess the choices facing policymakers.