Cynthia Arnson papers, 1957-2015, bulk 1980-2010

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Summary

Creator:
Arnson, Cynthia and Human Rights Archive (Duke University)
Abstract:
Cynthia Arnson is an author of research on US foreign policy, armed conflict, and human rights in Latin America, and is a former director of the Latin America Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Collection contains materials related to research spanning Arnson's career, with primary emphasis on El Salvador and Nicaragua in the 1980s and 1990s and additional emphasis on Guatemala and the broader Central American region in the same period and on Colombia from the 1990s to the 2010s. Materials include: congressional records and proceedings; reports from varied human rights monitoring and advocacy organizations; materials produced by the US Departments of State and Defense, including many declassified documents; and reporting on US foreign policy and events in Latin America by news outlets and intelligence agencies.
Extent:
43.25 Linear Feet (87 boxes)
Language:
Materials in English and Spanish.
Collection ID:
RL.13051

Background

Scope and content:

The Cynthia Arnson papers span 1957 to 2015, with emphasis on the 1980s and 1990s, and consist of materials linked to Arnson's career as a researcher of US foreign policy and human rights issues in Latin America. Roughly three quarters of the collection concerns armed conflict in El Salvador and Nicaragua, predominantly in the context of Cold War era US foreign policy. Significant amounts of material related to Colombia, Guatemala, and the Central American region are also present, in addition to small amounts of material focused on Honduras and the Southern Cone. The collection tends to emphasize the creation and implementation of policies by successive US administrations and congresses and patterns of political violence in Latin American countries, often in relation to one another. Types of materials present throughout the collection include: clippings from major newspapers in the US and abroad, chiefly the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Miami Herald; excerpts of Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) reports on Central America; congressional testimony; statements from the Congressional Record; published congressional hearings; reports from varied human rights and advocacy organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Washington Office on Latin America; reports from United Nations human rights observer missions and truth commissions; reports and statements from religious institutions; academic articles and book chapters; declassified US government documents; professional correspondence to and from Cynthia Arnson; statements and publications issued by the Department of State and Department of Defense; and statements and publications issued by Latin American governments and guerrilla movements.

Within the original country and regional groupings reflected at the series level, Cynthia Arnson variably organized files chronologically and by subject, often interfiling chronological catch-all folders labeled "clips" with folders pertaining to specific events, investigations, or congressional debates. Such iteratively labeled folders are now grouped together under shared titles, in most cases "Chronological files." Subseries for the most part highlight thematic distinctions present in Arnson's original organization, while arrangement at the folder level often replaces chronological with alphabetical order and introduces subject prefixes to group related files.

While materials related to specific Central American countries are concentrated in dedicated series, or in the Other Latin American Countries series in the case of Honduras, additional documents focused on El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras are included in the Central America Region series.

The presence of declassified documents related to US foreign policy is typically indicated at the folder level, with the exception of folders designated "chronological files," the variable contents of which are captured in file-level scope and content notes.

Biographical / historical:

Cynthia Arnson is an author of research on US foreign policy, armed conflict, and human rights in Latin America, and is a former director of the Latin America Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Cynthia Arnson's career in policy research began in the late 1970s, just as the overthrow of Nicaragua's Somoza regime by the Sandinista National Liberation Front and escalating conflicts between revolutionary movements and the governments of El Salvador and Guatemala brought Central America to the forefront of US foreign policy, then guided by a Cold War ideology concerned with the encroachment of perceived "communism" on spheres of American influence. These ongoing conflicts were the focus of Arnson's policy analysis throughout the 1980s, and of her work as a legislative assistant in the office of Representative George Miller (CA) from 1983 to 1988, during which time she earned a PhD in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Serving as Associate Director of Human Rights Watch/Americas from 1990 to 1994, Arnson tracked politically motivated violence perpetrated by Colombian paramilitary organizations, drug cartels, state forces, and guerrilla movements in addition to ongoing Central American conflicts and peace processes. Since joining the staff of the Latin America Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in 1994, Arnson has continued to work on issues linked to the legacy of armed conflict and US policy in Central America and Colombia while also producing, editing, and directing research on a wide array of issues related to South America, US policy in Latin America, and democratic governance more broadly.

Acquisition information:
The Cynthia Arnson papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 2023.
Processing information:

Processed by Will Runyan, May, 2024

Updated by Will Runyan, November, 2024.

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2023-0228; 2024-0160

Arrangement:

Arranged in the following series: El Salvador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Guatemala, Central America Regional Files, and Other Latin American Countries.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Cynthia Arnson papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1zf26