Juan Perón’s Anti-Imperialist Geopolitics: A New Order for the Cold War World

Using a blend of global, intellectual and cultural history, this book explores the geopolitics of Juan Perón and its relationship to, and impact on, the international history of the mid-20th century. Beginning with Perón’s formative years, it analyses the concepts that helped form his anti-imperialist geopolitical vision and then traces these ideas over six decades from his time in the Argentine Army through his rise to power, downfall and eventual death in 1974. Dissecting how notions of imperialism, nationalism and decolonization fuelled his ideology and approach to foreign policy, Juan Perón’s Anti-Imperialist Geopolitics takes a long-term approach to understand his geopolitical evolution over time.

While Peronism has continued to be an influential movement in Argentine politics and remains a lively research topic, his geopolitics have received scant attention despite their significance to his popularity and legacy. This book offers a corrective to this, situating Peronism, Argentina and Latin America on the international stage during the post-imperial era. From his pioneering role in the anti-imperialist solidarity movement, his expansion of the Peronist development model and his efforts to establish a post-imperialist world order through the Non-Aligned Movement, Juan Perón’s Anti-Imperialist Geopolitics argues that Perón merits recognition as a leading 20th-century geopolitical thinker.

Robert D. Koch is an independent historian based in Lisbon, Portugal. He received his PhD from University of South Florida in 2020, and was previously a military officer.