William E. Ratliff papers, 1942-2012

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Summary

Creators:
Ratliff, William E.
Abstract:
Writings, correspondence, sound recordings of interviews, reports, memoranda, legal proceedings, internal bulletins, opinion polls, printed matter, and photographs, relating to communism in Latin America; political and economic conditions, and especially laissez-faire economics, in Argentina, elsewhere in Latin America, and Hong Kong; President José Figueres Ferrer of Costa Rica; and the Socialist Workers Party of the United States and Trotskyist groups in Latin America.
Extent:
59 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize box, 1 card file box. (25.8 Linear Feet)
Language:
In English and Spanish
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], William E. Ratliff papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Background

Scope and content:

Acquired in 1988, with numerous increments added on a regular basis since then, the William E. Ratliff collection in the Hoover Institution Library & Archives consists largely of primary source materials relating to Latin American history, with some additional materials concerning the transfer of Hong Kong to Chinese rule. There is also a considerable amount of printed matter in the collection relating to Trotskyism in Latin America and elsewhere.

As the Latin American curator of the Hoover Library and Archives, and as a scholar in the field of Latin American studies, Ratliff has made frequent research trips to Central and South America, as well as to Cuba, and has written extensively on topics pertaining to political and social developments in Latin America. He went to El Salvador in 1984 to monitor that country's elections and later wrote several analyses of this event. A number of Ratliff's many published articles are contained in the Speeches and Writings series of the collection.

A major component of the collection is the extensive series of interviews conducted by Ratliff with prominent political figures from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Nicaragua, as well as with former officials from the United States and ex-Soviet Union with experience in Latin American affairs. A related group of interviews comprises an oral history of Costa Rican politics during the presidency of José Figueres. Other interviews cover such subjects as the civil war in El Salvador; conflict within Nicaragua during the period of the Sandinista government; views on Cuba from defectors from the Castro regime; and developments in Argentina following the end of military rule in the 1980s.

A subject of particular interest to Ratliff has been the question of market liberalization in Latin America during recent decades, and there are a number of interviews with economists and officials from the region on this subject. A smaller part of the Interviews series consists of interviews with officials in Hong Kong regarding the transfer of sovereignty in the former crown colony to China.

During the early 1980s, Ratliff was called as an expert witness in a trial involving a lawsuit brought by the Socialist Workers Party against the United States government, which was eventually found liable for damages inflicted during its surveillance of the Trotskyist SWP. Ratliff gave testimony on behalf of the government, giving his opinion on the relation, if any, between Latin American Trotskyism and terrorism. The Socialist Workers Trial File in the collection contains some transcripts of proceedings in the lawsuit, and an extensive amount of articles, pamphlets, and serial issues relating to Trotskyist groups in Latin America and elsewhere.

An early research focus of Ratliff's was the question of Chinese communist influence on leftist movements in Latin America during the 1960s. The British Foreign Office File in the collection contains a large number of articles on this subject. These excerpts from small circulation newsletters on Latin American politics are arranged by country.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1937
Born, Evanston, Illinois
1959
Bachelor of Arts, Oberlin College
1968
Master of Arts, University of Washington
1969-Present
Research Fellow, Hoover Institution
1974
Ph.D. in Latin American and Chinese history, University of Washington
1976
Author, Castroism and Communism in Latin America
1986-Present
Latin American Curator, Hoover Institution Library and Archives
1986
Author, Follow the Leader in the Horn: Cuban-Soviet Presence in East Africa
1990
Author, Changing Course: The Capitalist Revolution in Argentina (with Roger W. Fontaine)
1993
Author, The Civil War in Nicaragua: Inside the Sandinistas (with Roger Miranda)
2000
Author, A Strategic Flip-Flop in the Caribbean (with Roger Fontaine)
Author, Law and Economics in Developing Countries (with Edgardo Buscaglia)
2001
Author, Report from Havana: Time for a Reality Check on U.S. Policy toward Cuba (with Jonathan Clarke)
Author, War and Lack of Governance in Colombia: Narcos, Guerrillas, and U.S. Policy (with Edgardo Buscaglia)
2003
Author, Russian Oil in America's Future
Author, Doing It Wrong and Doing It Right: Education in Latin America and Asia
2004
Author, China's "Lessons" for Cuba's Transition?
Acquisition information:
Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1988, with numerous increments added on a regular basis.
Arrangement:

[The collection is organized into nine series: Correspondence, Speeches and Writings, Sound Recordings of Interviews, Research Materials, Socialist Workers Party Trial File, British Foreign Office File, United States Information Agency File, Subject File, and Audiovisual File.

Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

Sound recordings may not be duplicated.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], William E. Ratliff papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
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