Publisher's Synopsis
Amerson uses his analysis of developments in Venezuela to develop and bolster his case for America's use of "public diplomacy" in the encouragement and nurturing of democracy. In areas where authoritarianism and dictatorship have been the norm, the interface between traditional and public diplomacy to foster democracy movements is often determinative. Amerson has written an insider's account of how U.S. Foreign Service Officers with USIA (U.S. Information Agency) operate during times of crisis. He describes, first-hand, what it was like to be a member of Vice President Nixon's entourage when mobs attacked Nixon's car during his visit to Venezuela in 1958. He tells how the staff of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas worked under various domestic political situations: military dictatorship, revolution, and democracy. Amerson provides a valuable, first-hand study of Venezuela's transition from military dictatorship to popular democracy, a democracy that continues to exist while still struggling for survival today.
