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

This text focuses on the relationship between the US and the Dominican Republic, following Rafael Trujillo’s seizure of power in 1930. Examining the transition from the non-interventionist policies of the Hoover administration to Roosevelt’s good neighbour policy, the book blends diplomatic history with analyses of domestic politics in both countries, not only to explore the political limits of American hegemony, but also to provide an in-depth view of a cruel period in US foreign relations. Using a variety of sources, the book aims to demonstrate how caution, confusion and conflicting goals marked the US relations with Trujillo, and set the tone for the ambivalent Cold War relations that prevailed until Trujillo’s assassination in 1961.