The Argentine Right

In "The Argentine Right: Its History and Intellectual Origins" scholars of Argentine and Latin American history chart the growth of the Right from its roots in 19th-century European political theory through to the collapse of the conservative government in the 1980s. The contributors describe the Right's development, uneasy alliance with Peronists, years of triumph and subsequent retreat to opposition status. Arguing that the Right was unified, if at all, by no more than a fear of the Left, the essays distinguish the many groups and individuals prominent in the conservative and "nacionalista" movements. The discussions refer frequently to parallel events in Europe, identifying differences and similarities, and allowing the reader to make comparisons. In the process, the authors refute the myth that the right was substantially influenced by the Nazi party and convincingly document instead the more prevalent relationship between the ideology of the Spanish Falangists and that of like-minded activists struggling for a purifying Argentine renewal.