In the present era of historical writing on Latin America, it is a rare work that overlooks at least a nod to the importance of theories and paradigms in the quest to explain and understand the object under study. Larry Clayton’s new book, Peru and the United States, a history of relations between the two countries over the last two centuries, is no exception. In the first chapter he duly lays out the main theoretical frameworks or concepts that he proposes to apply and test: symmetries, dependency, ambiguities, and attitudes toward liberty and equality (p. 10).
Although these are hardly theories in any strict definition of the term, the author makes periodic stabs at carrying out his stated task. While this produces some interesting and occasionally insightful discussions, such as his analysis of how differing Peruvian and North American attitudes toward liberty and equality shaped the two countries’ relationship,...
