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The Making of the Good Neighbor Policy
No dust cover. Ex-library copy. No underlining.
- GenresHistory
438 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1961
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 2, 2026
Does what it says it does. And at some length. The Good Neighbor policy can be a bit hard to pin down. US president Franklin Delano Roosevelt's leadership in World War II and in the domestic politics of the New Deal consists of broad strokes and big gestures. The Good Neighbor policy is a lot more subtle. It's easy to dismiss it as an attitude, or a mere public relations campaign to put a kinder face on imperialism. Wood's book does the valuable work of showing the rubber hitting the road, and proving that the policy was a significant shift.
At root, the policy was an agreement by the United States to respect the sovereignty of Latin American nations. No big deal, right? Wrong. From our modern perspective, where the US (usually) only intervenes in Latin America quietly or through proxies, the Good Neighbor policy doesn't seem like much of a commitment. But before FDR's policy we used to run around the hemisphere using the US Marines to conquer, violently overturn elections, and sometimes just outright rob Latin American countries. Wood documents what a real switch this was, by carefully walking us through a number of incidents across the 1920s and 1930s, and documenting the way the US response changed.
Wood's coverage is quite detailed, and I didn't just learn more about US policy, I got greater insight into the history of each of the countries covered. The local and US government actors in Cuban, Nicaraguan, Bolivian and Mexican crises are investigated in depth. Their actions are traced over the course of months and years. In the process Wood makes it very clear how much the Good Neighbor policy changed. FDR created a world in which, if only for a little while, Latin America could look at the US as a possible ally and asset, instead of just an 800 pound gorilla to be terrified of.
The author worked in US diplomacy towards the end of the period covered, so he must have some strong ideas about the topic at hand. 25 years after the publication of this book he came out with a volume entitled "The Destruction of the Good Neighbor Policy". I get the sense that he thinks the policy was good enough to be mourned. That doesn't necessarily come across in this book. Is he trying to be objective to a fault? I get a clear sense of resentment of the lengths to which Bolivia and Mexico went to nationalize their oil industry under the policy. Wood also seems to be strenuously avoiding making any partisan choices. He suggests that the Hoover administration might deserve equal credit for the Good Neighbor policy, which strikes me as ridiculous.
But these are minor quibbles. Wood's book illuminates a much neglected policy, and a much neglected part of the world. FDR's Good Neighbor policy was a key part of the US ability to set itself up as a peaceful world hegemon in the 1940s, and it's well worth seeing how that policy came about.
At root, the policy was an agreement by the United States to respect the sovereignty of Latin American nations. No big deal, right? Wrong. From our modern perspective, where the US (usually) only intervenes in Latin America quietly or through proxies, the Good Neighbor policy doesn't seem like much of a commitment. But before FDR's policy we used to run around the hemisphere using the US Marines to conquer, violently overturn elections, and sometimes just outright rob Latin American countries. Wood documents what a real switch this was, by carefully walking us through a number of incidents across the 1920s and 1930s, and documenting the way the US response changed.
Wood's coverage is quite detailed, and I didn't just learn more about US policy, I got greater insight into the history of each of the countries covered. The local and US government actors in Cuban, Nicaraguan, Bolivian and Mexican crises are investigated in depth. Their actions are traced over the course of months and years. In the process Wood makes it very clear how much the Good Neighbor policy changed. FDR created a world in which, if only for a little while, Latin America could look at the US as a possible ally and asset, instead of just an 800 pound gorilla to be terrified of.
The author worked in US diplomacy towards the end of the period covered, so he must have some strong ideas about the topic at hand. 25 years after the publication of this book he came out with a volume entitled "The Destruction of the Good Neighbor Policy". I get the sense that he thinks the policy was good enough to be mourned. That doesn't necessarily come across in this book. Is he trying to be objective to a fault? I get a clear sense of resentment of the lengths to which Bolivia and Mexico went to nationalize their oil industry under the policy. Wood also seems to be strenuously avoiding making any partisan choices. He suggests that the Hoover administration might deserve equal credit for the Good Neighbor policy, which strikes me as ridiculous.
But these are minor quibbles. Wood's book illuminates a much neglected policy, and a much neglected part of the world. FDR's Good Neighbor policy was a key part of the US ability to set itself up as a peaceful world hegemon in the 1940s, and it's well worth seeing how that policy came about.
April 9, 2021
Pure imperialist apologia, taking the "Good Neighbor Policy" at face value, excusing actions by the Roosevelt administration, demonizing Sandino and various freedom fighters. Aside from a good overview on certain niche topics like Grau San Martin's "100 Days Government," would not recommend.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews