Revolution!: South America and the Rise of the New Left

by Nikolas Kozloff

Overview

The highly-regarded author of the first biography of Hugo Chavez brings his considerable expertise to assess the left-leaning regimes in South America. In this insightful and timely examination, Nikolas Kozloff discusses the hot-button issues of energy integration, free trade agendas, culture wars and South America's emerging role as a new political bloc, and how these tectonic political shifts will affect the United States. As Venezuela opposes U.S. militarization in the Andes and Bolivia fights a U.S.-fueled drug war, Kozloff looks to the future and what the U.S. must do to maintain these vital economic and political allies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780230617544
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/27/2009
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Nikolas Kozloff is an expert on South America and a former fellow at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs in Washington, D.C. He contributes articles to Counterpunch, buzzflash.com, venezuelanalysis.com, Z Net, and blogs on senorchichero.blogspot.com. He has appeared on PBS World Focus, C-SPAN Washington Journal and The Daily Show and is the author of Hugo Chavez: Oil, Politics and the Challenge to the US. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Table of Contents

Introduction * Energy Integration * Rolling Back Free Trade Agenda * Setting Independent Military Course * Culture Wars * South America: A New Political Bloc? * Popular Forces Pressure Regimes to Radicalize * South American Governments: How Revolutionary? * Conclusion: South America Shakes off U.S. Control

Editorial Reviews

While official Washington and elite media have been mucking about in the Middle East, journalist Nikolas Kozloff has charted his own path amid the terrain-shifting upsurges in 'America's backyard.' He casts a sympathetic but critical eye at the leftward trend in South American politics, the battles over oil and media, the rise of indigenous movements and sometimes erratic populist leaders. If you get your news on Latin America from mainstream media, this wide-ranging book is a needed corrective.” —Jeff Cohen, author of Cable News Confidential and founder of the media watch group FAIR

“A much needed antidote to the mainstream media's canting coverage of Latin America. Kozloff is an acute observer of contemporary Latin American politics, and he proves to be an indispensable guide to the ideas, politics, and economics behind the region's yet latest attempt to wrest some wiggle room from Washington, as well as to the possibilities and perils that confront its 'New Left' leaders and activists.” —Greg Grandin, author of Empire's Workshop: Latin America, the United States, and the Rise of the New Imperialism

“Succeeds in showing how the countries [of South America] have moved away from cookie-cutter solutions and are each working to develop equitable societies on their own terms.” —Publishers Weekly

“Kozloff traverses South America in this timely review of the leftist shift among many of America's southern hemispheric neighbors. Kozloff's narrative is readable and well developed, ending in the concept of a community of nations and the obstacles to its realization.” —Library Journal

“Lively and accessible…serves as a useful introduction to the region's current political dynamics, and Kozloff's writing shines when he describes lesser-known characters and stories in the South American shift to the left.” —Benjamin Dangl, Upside Down World

“Kozloff charts a course across the leftist landscape of South America, travelling from the more radical countries in the Andean north to the less revolutionary states of the Southern Cone.” —Michael Busch, CUNY Graduate Center Advocate

“Effectively etches the complex cartography out from simple borders to rich climates and changing geographies…For such an ambitious undertaking, the reader is well-rewarded.” —Sam Alcoff, The Indypendent

“In this timely and insightful analysis, acclaimed journalist and Latin American authority, Nikolas Kozloff explores the continent's new path and its affect on the U.S. With access to top political brass and a lively reportage style, Kozloff shows how we can secure and protect our ties with our close neighbors.” —ZNET

“[Kozloff] lets us in on his travels, Jack Kerouac-style.” —Roger Lowenstein, New York Times

From the Publisher

In the past five years, Latin America's new cadre of leftist leaders have been struggling to shake off the legacies of faltering economies and military dictatorships that have long haunted the region. Kozloff (Hugo Chavez: Oil, Politics, and the Challenge to the U.S.) offers a series of snapshots of steady transformation, focusing heavily on Venezuela's Chavez and key issues like oil, media and multiculturalism. Compiling current anecdotes and concise historical summaries, Kozloff describes a number of overlapping trends in the region, such as indigenous rights movements and revived labor unions, as well as a widespread desire for economic independence from the United States. Kozloff interprets these similarities as proof of increasing regional integration, but fails to provide adequate hard evidence. If anything, he succeeds in showing how the countries he writes about have moved away from cookie-cutter solutions and are each working to develop equitable societies on their own terms. (Apr.)

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Publishers Weekly

Kozloff (Hugo Chavez: Oil, Politics, and the Challenge to the U.S) traverses South America in this timely review of the leftist shift among many of America's southern hemispheric neighbors. In addition to the obvious (Venezuela), Kozloff surveys Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and to a lesser degree, Peru, and their new nationalist leaders. Absent are Colombia, Uruguay, and Paraguay. Chavez is the central figure and prime motivator, yet the nations discussed struggle with the question of which comes first-political unity or economic integration? Dealing with issues such as a history of military oppression, uses of media, energy solutions, the indigenous populations, and cultural identities, Kozloff's narrative is readable and well developed, ending in the concept of a community of nations and the obstacles to its realization. As new leaders emerge in the shadow of Chavez's Bolivian revolution, South America promises to be a much larger diplomatic concern for the United States. Highly recommended for academic and larger public libraries.
—Boyd Childress

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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