ABSTRACT
This chapter examines a sample of seven succession crises that involved a substantial American role and had different outcomes: Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Iran, Nicaragua, the Philippines, and Chile. When dictators took power in each of these countries, they supported US foreign policies and tried to make it appear as if the United States supported them. The worst outcomes for Washington occurred in Cuba, Iran, and Nicaragua, where anti-American, undemocratic regimes took power. The best outcomes occurred with the democratic transitions in the Philippines and Chile. The Dominican Republic and Haiti represent ambiguous outcomes because a democracy eventually took hold, but only after years of instability and major US interventions. The succession crises passed through four stages that serve as signposts for narrating the cases and for showing how the changing relations among the various actors led to different outcomes.
