Richard M. Balzano
Richard M. Balzano
- Doctor of Philosophy in History, University of Reading, Reading, U.K., 2024
- Master of Arts in Political Science and History (Interdisciplinary), Western New Mexico University, Silver City, N.M., 2020
- Bachelor of Arts in History, Utica College of Syracuse University (now Utica University), Utica, N.Y., 2003
Richard M. Balzano is a historian of U.S. and Latin American history. He is the current president of the Middle Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies (MACLAS). He writes a bi-weekly political column for the New Hampshire Gazette. His freelance work has appeared recently in LA Progressive and Venezuelanalysis (venezuelanalysis.com), and his work has featured on the SanctionsKill Campaign (sanctionskill.org).
- The Cold War in Latin America
- The relationship between aid, sanctions, human rights, and international law
- Resource diplomacy and the political economy of national security/interest
- Media, propaganda, and perception management re: US foreign policy
- Latin American History
- The Global Cold War
- The Making of the Modern World
- American Government
- President, Middle Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies (MACLAS)
- New England Council of Latin American Studies (NECLAS)
- Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR)
Selected Works
Presentations
“Resurrecting Dulles: The Reagan Administration's Redefining of Human Rights and Rebranding of Cold War Objectives in Latin America.” Paper presentation scheduled for the annual conference of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR), Panel 58: “The Values, Virtues, and Vices of Foreign Aid: Domestic Politics and the Reimagining of U.S. Overseas Assistance, 1945–2025,” Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. June 27, 2026.
“Negotiated Authority: Sovereignty, Hegemony, and the Politics of Infrastructure Development in Postwar Latin America.” Chair, Panel 55, scheduled for the annual conference of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR), Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. June 27, 2026.
“Colonial Histories and Sonic/Visual Epistemologies.” Chair, Panel XIII at the annual conference of the Middle Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies (MACLAS), “Pedagogies of Possibility: Teaching, Learning, and Decolonizing Knowledge in Turbulent Times,” Pennsylvania Western University, California, PA. March 14, 2026.
“Indigenous Rights and Community Resilience.” Chair, Panel XII at the annual conference of the Middle Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies (MACLAS), “Pedagogies of Possibility: Teaching, Learning, and Decolonizing Knowledge in Turbulent Times,” Pennsylvania Western University, California, PA. March 14, 2026.
“The Dictator Whisperer: Vernon Walters' Clandestine Diplomacy in the Americas, 1979-1984.” Paper presented at the annual conference of the Middle Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies (MACLAS), “Pedagogies of Possibility: Teaching, Learning, and Decolonizing Knowledge in Turbulent Times,” Panel I: “Empire, Diplomacy, and U.S. Power in the Americas,” Pennsylvania Western University, California, PA. March 13, 2026.
“Emerging Perspectives in Latin American Scholarship.” Conference organizer and host, Middle Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies (MACLAS) Digital Conference, Springfield College, Springfield, MA. November 11-12, 2025.
“Charlie Wilson’s Other War: Backing Genocide for Oil in Guatemala.” Paper presented at the annual conference of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR), Panel 53: “Development and the Politics of Sovereignty, Memory, and Human Rights in the Global South,” Arlington, VA. June 27, 2025.
“Charlie Wilson’s Other War: Backing Genocide for Oil in Guatemala.” Paper presented at the annual conference of the Middle Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies (MACLAS), “Writing the Future: Emerging Trends in Latin American Studies,” Panel 3: “Central American Politics & Ideologies,” University of Delaware, Newark, DE. March 28, 2025.
“Oil, Aid, and Human Rights in 20th Century Guatemala — an Interview with Richard Balzano.” Latin American History Podcast. Posted January 7, 2025. Podcast, 53:00.
“Slavery and the Precarious State of Freedom in Northeastern Vermont.” Invited speaking engagement at the annual meeting of the Groton Historical Society, Groton, VT. August 24, 2024.
Publications
The Blackest Gold: US-Guatemalan Petro-Diplomacy from Conception to Liberalization (working title). In progress, under contract with Bloomsbury.
“Keeping Epstein Off the Front Page.” LA Progressive. March 2, 2026. https://www.laprogressive.com/foreign-policy/keeping-epstein-off-the-front-page
Review of “Beginning of Winter: The George H.W. Bush Administration, the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, and the Emergence of the Post–Cold War World” by James R. Stocker [Journal of Cold War Studies 26, no. 2 (Spring 2024): 26-62], H-Diplo / Jervis Forum. September 30, 2025. https://issforum.org/to/JAR-181
“Constructing an Echo Chamber: A Legacy of Media Bias Towards Chávez’s Venezuela.” Venezuelanalysis.com. March 5, 2025. https://venezuelanalysis.com/opinion/constructing-an-echo-chamber-a-legacy-of-media-bias-towards-chavezs-venezuela/
“Informant and Artifacts: Local Histories’ Representations of Slavery and the Precarious State of Freedom in Northeastern Vermont.” Vermont History 90, no. 1 (Winter/Spring 2022): 1–23.
“Capital Paralysis: The Scope and Impact of Washington-Imposed Sanctions on Venezuela in the Context of International Law.” Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal (August 2020). http://links.org.au/capital-paralysis-scope-impact-washington-sanctions-venezuela-international-law
Richard Balzano writes a bi-weekly political column with the New Hampshire Gazette. https://www.nhgazette.com/author/richard-b/
The Blackest Gold: US-Guatemalan Petro-Diplomacy from Conception to Liberalization (Book project under contract)
Review of “Beginning of Winter: The George H.W. Bush Administration, the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, and the Emergence of the Post–Cold War World” by James R. Stocker [Journal of Cold War Studies 26, no. 2 (Spring 2024): 26-62], H-Diplo / Jervis Forum. September 30, 2025. https://issforum.org/to/JAR-181
“Constructing an Echo Chamber: A Legacy of Media Bias Towards Chávez’s Venezuela.” Venezuelanalysis.com. March 5, 2025. https://venezuelanalysis.com/opinion/constructing-an-echo-chamber-a-legacy-of-media-bias-towards-chavezs-venezuela/
