#DSBC- The Dictator Next Door: The Good Neighbor Policy and the Trujillo Regime in the Dominican Republic, 1930-1945

Purchase the book here. The question of how U.S. foreign policy should manage relations with autocratic governments, particularly in the Caribbean and Latin America, has always been difficult and complex. In The Dictator Next Door Eric Paul Roorda focuses on the relations between the U.S. and the Dominican Republic following Rafael Trujillo’s seizure of power in 1930. Examining the transition from the noninterventionist policies of the Hoover administration to Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor policy, Roorda blends diplomatic history with analyses of domestic politics in both countries not only to explore the political limits of American hegemony but to provide an in-depth view of a crucial period in U.S. foreign relations. Although Trujillo’s dictatorship was enabled by prior U.S. occupation of the Dominican Republic, the brutality of his regime and the reliance on violence and vanity to sustain his rule was an untenable offense to many in the U.S. diplomatic community, as well as to certain legislators, journalists, and bankers. Many U.S. military officers and congressmen, however—impressed by the civil order and extensive infrastructure the dictator established—comprised an increasingly powerful Dominican lobby. What emerges is a picture of Trujillo at the center of a crowded stage of international actors and a U.S. government that, despite events such as Trujillo’s 1937 massacre of 12,000 Haitians, was determined to foster alliances with any government that would oppose its enemies as the world moved toward war. Using previously untapped records, privately held papers, and unpublished photographs, Roorda demonstrates how caution, confusion, and conflicting goals marked U.S. relations with Trujillo and set the tone for the ambivalent Cold War relations that prevailed until Trujillo’s assassination in 1961. The Dictator Next Door will interest Latin Americanists, historians, political scientists, and specialists in international relations and diplomacy.

About the facilitator:

Remysell was born and raised in New York City specifically in the Borough of the Bronx. He is a professor for the Department of Ethnic and Race Studies, where he lectures courses on Caribbean politics, the Dominican identity, and history. He is also a devoted community activist.

In the past, he was a Co-Author for the “Dictionary of the Caribbean and Afro-Latin American Biographies”-W.E.B Dubois Research Institute at Harvard University. He has worked on the Biden and Harris Presidential Campaign as the Regional Voter Activation Director in Florida. Previously, he represented City Hall as the Manhattan Director for the New York City Mayor’s Office, where he managed initiatives and policies for Northern Manhattan and the Dominican community. Also, he has provided in-depth Policy analysis and advanced solutions for the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) in the Division of Strategic Planning and Policy. Further, he helped organize various elections in New York City and abroad with the Office of the Prime Minister of Norway. He received a Master of Philosophy degree in Comparative and International Education from the University of Oslo (in Norway), a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University at Albany – SUNY, and completed a graduate political program from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.