College Honors Program

Date of Creation

Spring 5-14-2026

Degree Type

Thesis

Department

Other

First Advisor

Maria Rodrigues

Abstract

Constructivist theory provides a framework for understanding United States foreign policy toward the Dominican Republic during the U.S. occupation (1916-1924), the rise and consolidation of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo’s dictatorship, and the regime’s eventual political isolation during the Cold War. This thesis argues that U.S. foreign policy was shaped by identity narratives and political culture, also identified through historically constructed understandings and the repeated performance of legitimacy and order. By situating U.S.-Dominican Republic relations within broader debates in international relations theory, this thesis highlights the explanatory value of constructivism in understanding the evolution and contradictions of U.S. policy in Latin America. Through a two-period case study, my comparative analysis demonstrates how hegemonic identity and interventionist political culture informed U.S. policy decisions in the Dominican Republic across the twentieth century. The same ideational frameworks that initially justified intervention and support for authoritarian stability later contributed to the withdrawal of support from Trujillo as Cold War anti-communism and shifting perceptions of legitimacy redefined the nature of acceptable governance in the Caribbean.

Comments

Reader: Rosa Carrasquillo

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