Date of Award

Summer 1991

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

Committee Director

Joan E. Supplee

Committee Member

Paul C. Clark, Jr.

Committee Member

Lorraine Lees

Abstract

This thesis examines Foreign Minister Edgardo Mercado Jarrin's policies between 1968 and 1971, investigating the degree to which he formulated an independent Peruvian foreign policy. It traces the ideological underpinnings behind Peruvian diplomacy. The study analyzes three basic dimensions of foreign policy: the seizure of La Brea and Parinas oil fields, the capture of unregistered fishing vessels, and the extension of relations to nonaligned and communist countries. General Mercado charted a new course for Peruvian diplomacy by focusing on the inequities of international maritime law, strengthening relations with the Soviets, carving a niche for Peru in Third World politics, and refusing to support unconditionally Washington's regional policies. Mercado's inexperience, vacillations, and strident nationalism led to adaptation of policies that rallied domestic and international support, but hampered negotiations, provoked sanctions, and initiated a new cycle of dependency on Soviet weapons and military expertise.

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DOI

10.25777/s47j-5359

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