Historical Dictionary of the Dirty Wars: No 24 (Historical Dictionaries of War, Revolution, and Civil Unrest)

By David R. Kohut and Olga Vilella

Book Overview

Historical Dictionary of the "Dirty Wars" covers the most recent period of military dictatorship in Argentina (1976-1983), Chile (1973-1990), and Uruguay (1973-1985), when national-security regimes waged war against suspected subversives. The chief targets were leftists, especially armed guerrillas and their supporters, though "subversive" came to include anyone perceived to be a threat to the status quo. Unlike a conventional war, fought against a physical enemy, a "dirty war" (guerra sucia) is fought against an ideology. The difficulty of rooting out such an unconventional enemy was thought to justify unconventional tactics. As a result, thousands of citizens were abducted by security forces, illegally detained, and tortured. Many became desaparecidos, vanishing without a trace.

Although the term "dirty war" is most closely associated with Argentina during the 1970s, it has since become a byword for state-sponsored terror in other parts of the world and in other historical contexts. The reason for focusing on the Southern Cone of South America is threefold. First, these countries are often discussed together in the literature on dictatorship and its aftermath. Second, they were among the most notorious offenders in a region noted for human rights abuses. Third, their continuing efforts to bring "dirty war" participants to justice have renewed interest in the period, especially in the light of debate on how to prosecute human rights offenders in other parts of the world.

The authors have included a list of acronyms and abbreviations, a chronology for each country, an introduction, and a lengthy bibliography. Special features are the inclusion in the dictionary of entries on literary authors and other artists whose work reflects "dirty war" themes and the inclusion in the bibliography of the creative works themselves-poetry collections, films, novels, plays, and short stories.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0810848538
• ISBN13: 9780810848535
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Scarecrow Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.6" x 1.1" x 5.9"