Lessons in Security Logics from Cold-War Guatemala
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21411080 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Brittany Halley (0009-0003-5803-6583, The Ohio State University, corresponding author), Elizabeth Velasquez (0009-0006-8672-1731, The Ohio State University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 56 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 93-108 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0047-2816 • E-ISSN: 1541-3780 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00472816251384909 |
| OpenAlex | W4415286030 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 28 |
The CIA's Operation PBSuccess represents a pivotal moment in Cold War securitization that illuminates technical communication's role in security contexts. We use Haas and Frost's apparent decolonial feminist (ADF) rhetoric of risk to trace how communicators mediated security logics across cultures and networks while exploiting technological asymmetries between the US and Guatemala. Building on theories of risk and (in)security framing, we demonstrate how the scriptwriters and hosts of Radio Liberación , as technical communicators, functioned as security actors complicit in the decades-long aftermath. We conclude by calling on technical communicators to approach risk communication through continued decolonial praxis
Cold war · Critical security studies · Feminism · Rhetoric · Securitization · Sociotechnical system · Technical communication · TRACE (psycholinguistics) · Global Security and Public Health · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · Peacebuilding and International Security
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |