History of Argentina in the Twentieth Century

A History of Argentina in the Twentieth Century, originally published in Buenos Aires in 1994, attained instant status as a classic. Written as an introductory text for university students and the general public, it is a profound reflection on the “Argentine dilemma” and the challenges that the country faces as it tries to rebuild democracy. Luis Alberto Romero brilliantly and painstakingly reconstructs and analyzes Argentina’s tortuous, often tragic modern history, from the “alluvial society” born of mass immigration, to the dramatic years of Juan and Eva Perón, to the recent period of military dictatorship. For this second English-language edition, Romero has written new chapters covering the Kirchner decade (2003–13), the upheavals surrounding the country’s 2001 default on its foreign debt, and the tumultuous years that followed as Argentina sought to reestablish a role in the global economy while securing democratic governance and social peace.

Luis Alberto Romero is Professor Emeritus at the Universidad de Buenos Aires and founding director of the Center of Political History in the School of Politics and Government at the Universidad Nacional de San Martín. James P. Brennan is Professor of History at the University of California, Riverside. He is the coauthor, with Marcelo Rougier, of The Politics of National Capitalism: Peronism and the Argentine Bourgeoisie, 1946–1976 (Penn State, 2009).