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McCaffrey Seminar Series - John Davis-Abraham
"The Image Problem: Viron Vaky, Inter-American Relations and Intragovernmental Dissent"
This presentation analyzes how United States government offi cial Viron Vaky criticized U.S. foreign policy choices in Latin America during the Cold War, particularly U.S. support of authoritarian military
dictatorships in Guatemala and Chile. Vaky’s worldview on inter-American relations, cultivated over
three decades in public service, mixed practical policy choices with more moralistic considerations,
which was often lacking in typical conceptions of U.S. Cold War policy. These factors made Vaky a
distinct voice of U.S. intragovernmental dissent during the Cold War. This research is particularly relevant to present-day discussions about U.S. intervention in global affairs and the willingness of those in power
to criticize policy choices.
For more information on the McCaffrey Seminar Series, please visit: https://history.uwo.ca/about_us/events/mccaffrey_seminar_series.html