Kyle Burke. Revolutionaries for the Right

Although it languished in historiographical obscurity for decades, the scholarly literature on U.S. conservatism in the post–World War II period has become an active and sophisticated subfield in recent years. Whether engaging questions of the origins of grassroots conservatism, the influence the Right has had on U.S. foreign policy, or the pivotal roles played by notable figures such as Phyllis Schlafly, William F. Buckley Jr., and Ronald Reagan, historians have recognized to a much greater degree the significance of the “other side” of the ideological spectrum in shaping U.S. and global history since 1945. Simplistic one-dimensional characterizations of conservatives—or their total omission from many narratives—have given way to nuanced assessments that have forced scholars to reconsider their understanding of the events, themes, and ideas of the past seven decades. In Revolutionaries for the Right: Anticommunist Internationalism and Paramilitary Warfare in the Cold War, Kyle Burke adds another layer of texture and analysis to the narrative about conservatives during the Cold War and beyond as he explores the murky intersection of U.S. conservatism, the global anti-communist movement, and the rise of paramilitary operations designed to free the world from the shackles of communism. While focused primarily on the roles played by lesser-known yet extremely influential conservative internationalist figures, such as Marvin Liebman, Clarence Manion, and General John Singlaub, Burke digs deeper to look at how the emergence of an international anti-communist movement devoted to rollback rather than containment came to occupy a central place in the ideology and activism of many U.S. conservatives. The book also examines how international anti-communists tried to harness U.S. domestic political issues like the civil rights movement to their own ends and how these issues influenced conservative fundraising and lobbying at home, underscoring the potent nexus of domestic politics and foreign relations.

Art · Communism · Conservatism · Economic history · Historiography · Ideology · Internationalism (politics) · Literature · Narrative · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Communism, Protests, Social Movements · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · Law · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies