This article analyzes the international networks of the Chilean Christian Democratic Party (Partido Demócrata Cristiano, or PDC) during General Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship from 1973 to 1989. The topic is intricately connected to the history of the Cold War, helping us gain a more complex and nuanced view of the conflict.1 By focusing on additional actors, the article shows that the United States and the USSR were not the only or even most important characters in this story. European and Chilean actors were the key protagonists. The article also shows that government actors were at times less important than political parties, international political networks, and other non-state entities, all of which acted as promoters of ideas and projects and as channels of material aid. The triangular relationship among these actors (Chile, Western Europe, and the United States) is the setting of the analysis that follows.
Unlike case...