While the principal subject of this slim volume is United States-Colombian relations for the years 1938-1942, the author has gone beyond the purely formal and diplomatic relationship of the two countries. Colombian domestic politics is thoroughly presented, insofar as its divisions and distinctions could be traced to the nation’s relations with the United States. Thus the reader gets a series of insights into the complex, sometimes convoluted moves within the Conservative and Liberal parties. A sizeable amount of space, for example, is used for a detailed analysis of the attitudes, ideas, and actions of Laureano Gómez concerning Nazi Germany and Colombian adherence to the Panama Declaration in 1939 and the Havana Agreements of 1940, as they seemed, in his view, to limit the nation’s freedom of action. Briefer but still adequate coverage is given to the divisions within the Liberal party, particularly after former President Alfonso López and his followers moved toward the presidential election of 1942. The author presents similarly detailed analyses of military affairs, of fiscal involvements, and of patterns of economic production and trade, again with the focus immediately upon the United States-Colombian relations, though domestic involvements are also noted.
Within the limits which Bushnell has set for himself this study is admirable—a worthy extension and up-dating of the now classic study about United States-Colombian relations to 1934 by the late E. Taylor Parks.