Solidarity: Latin America and the US Left in the Era of Human Rights

by Steve Striffler

How and why has solidarity changed over time? Why have particular strategies, tactics, and strands of internationalism emerged or re-emerged at particular moments? And how has solidarity shaped the history of the US left in particular?

In Solidarity, Steve Striffler addresses these key questions, offering the first history of US-Latin American solidarity from the Haitian Revolution to the present day. Striffler traces the history of internationalism through the Cold War, exploring the rise of human rights as the dominant current of international solidarity. He also considers the limitations of a solidarity movement today that inherited its organisational infrastructure from the human rights movements.

Moving beyond conventionally ahistorical analyses of solidarity, here Striffler provides a distinctive intervention in the history of progressive politics in both the US and Latin America, the past and present of US imperialism and anti-imperialism, and the history of human rights and labour internationalism.

Genres: Nonfiction, Latin American History

240 pages, Hardcover

Published March 15, 2019

Reviews

[Emma Banks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for anyone who has ever been involved in solidarity campaigns. By historicizing and contextualizing US-Latin American solidarity efforts, we can learn a lot about how to build a more effective left internationalism today. Steve Striffler has done extensive research and presents his arguments in an accessible and easily digestible way. He may be an academic, but this book should have appeal outside of the academy as well.

This book takes us from Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) to present day anti-corporate activism. Along the way, Striffler explores the political contexts that enabled and disabled certain kinds of activism. While the book covers a lot of ground, it's only 200 pages, making it a quick and pleasurable read.

I plan to use the book in future teaching to ground my students in what anti-imperialism and anti-colonialism mean.

[Daniel Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is easily one of the best books on history or politics that I’ve ever read. The author examines two centuries of solidarity - or lack thereof - between the US Left and various causes and movements in Latin America. This is a leftist book, but not a romantic one. The author clear-sightedly analyzes what worked and what didn’t, and why.

An amazing work of historical materialism. As a leftist book, I’d rank it second only to Marx and Engles themselves. I recommend it to everyone.