IB History Regional Study 9: the Americas During the Cold War Key Definitions

The revolutionary organization founded by Fidel Castro in 1955, named after the date of the failed Moncada Barracks attack. It led the guerrilla campaign against Batista from the Sierra Maestra mountains.

A US foreign aid programme launched by President Kennedy in 1961, pledging $20 billion over ten years to promote economic development, social reform and democratic governance in Latin America. It aimed to reduce the appeal of communism by addressing poverty and inequality, but achieved limited results due to political conditions attached to aid and entrenched structural problems.

A failed CIA-backed invasion of Cuba in April 1961 by Cuban exiles attempting to overthrow Castro. Its failure strengthened Castro's position domestically and pushed Cuba closer to the Soviet Union.

A state that retains formal sovereignty but depends heavily on a stronger power for economic, military, or diplomatic support.

An agreement in which members promise to respond jointly when one member is attacked, as under Article 5 of the NATO treaty.

The cooperation of several countries in which an attack on one member is considered an attack on all members. Truman referred the Korean crisis to the UN Security Council because he believed North Korean aggression threatened this principle.

The United States strategy of preventing the further expansion of Soviet power and communist influence through economic, political, military, and covert measures, without directly attacking the Soviet Union itself.

Anti-communist rebel groups in Nicaragua active from 1979 to the early 1990s who opposed the Sandinista government. The Reagan administration funded, trained, and armed them as part of its broader Cold War strategy in Central America, a policy that later became entangled in the Iran-Contra affair after Congress restricted direct funding.

A sudden, illegal overthrow of a government, often carried out by the military. The term comes from French, meaning 'blow of state.'

Secret political, economic, intelligence, or paramilitary activity intended to influence events abroad while concealing or limiting official responsibility.

The growing difference between official claims about progress in Vietnam and the evidence perceived by journalists, soldiers, legislators, and the public.

A 13-day confrontation in October 1962 between the US and Soviet Union over Soviet nuclear missiles placed in Cuba. It ended with the Soviets withdrawing the missiles in exchange for a US pledge not to invade Cuba.

A coordinated attempt to reduce a state's international influence by limiting recognition, official relations, trade, participation in organisations, or access to negotiations.

A revolutionary strategy developed by Ernesto 'Che' Guevara and theorised by Régis Debray in the 1960s. It held that a small armed guerrilla group (the foco) operating in rural areas could create the conditions for a broader revolution without waiting for a mass political movement to develop first. The theory drew on the Cuban example but failed in most other contexts, most visibly in Bolivia in 1967, where Guevara was captured and executed.

A form of irregular warfare in which small groups use ambushes, sabotage, raids, and hit-and-run tactics against a larger, conventional military force. The term comes from the Spanish word for 'little war.'

The predominance of one state within a region through military, economic, diplomatic, and institutional power rather than formal colonial rule.

A committee or council that rules a country, usually after seizing power by force. The term is most commonly associated with military rulers of Latin American countries.

A relationship in which a weaker state uses rules, institutions, and negotiation to protect its interests while cooperating with a much stronger partner.

A state without superpower-level military strength that seeks influence through alliances, diplomacy, multilateral institutions, mediation, aid, and specialised international contributions.

Castro's manifesto outlining five revolutionary laws for Cuba, developed during his trial after the failed 1953 Moncada Barracks attack. It promised land reform, profit-sharing, education reform, and nationalization of utilities.

A military framework that defined internal ideological opposition as a threat to the state and gave armed forces a political role in eliminating it.

Eisenhower's defence strategy (1953-1961) that prioritized nuclear deterrence and covert operations over large conventional military forces. It relied on the threat of "massive retaliation" to deter Soviet expansion, and used the CIA to intervene in foreign countries at lower cost than direct military action.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command, established in 1958 as a joint US-Canadian military command responsible for monitoring and defending North American airspace against Soviet bomber and missile attack. NORAD integrated Canada deeply into US Cold War defence planning and symbolized the close but unequal military partnership between the two countries.

A coordinated intelligence and repression network linking military governments in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, active from the mid-1970s. With US backing, it enabled the tracking, abduction, torture and killing of political opponents across national borders. Tens of thousands of people were killed or disappeared under the programme.