Arts and Humanities Commons^™

“Better Unmentioned:” An Assessment Of Reagan Administration Aid To Pakistan, Panama, And Zaire., Charles G. Sherrard

Dissertations and Theses

Abstract.

During the Cold War, the Reagan administration justified American support to the Noriega dictatorship in Panama, the Mobutu dictatorship in what was then called Zaire, and the regime of Zia ul-Haq in Pakistan, by stating that it was necessary to overcome the Soviet Union. While the alliances with these regimes did help to bring about the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in 1989, each of these three regimes also acted against US interests via the promotion of drug smuggling or militancy, or forging other alliances with powers potentially hostile to American interests .[1] However, Soviet quagmires in these …

Evangelical Dictatorship Driving The Guatemalan Civil War: Reconsidering Ríos Montt, The “Savior Of La Nueva Guatemala”, Miho Egoshi

Dissertations and Theses

The devastating earthquake that hit Guatemala in 1976 was used as a pretext for American born Protestant evangelicalism—mainly Pentecostalism—to gain entry in the Guatemalan society. A major consequence of the earthquake relief efforts by American evangelicals, is that their meddling also intensified the Mayan genocide during the Guatemalan Civil War (1960-96). This thesis explores the complicit relationship of religion and politics in the Guatemalan Civil War, focusing on the evangelical dictator Efraín Ríos Montt’s regime (1982-83). Firstly, it examines how Christian evangelicalism played a pivotal role for conservative Republican candidate Ronald Reagan and, later through his administration, for Ríos Montt’s …