Toward a global history of Latin American Cold War: Czechoslovak intelligence and local actors

Project Description

Against the backdrop of newly available archival documents on the activities of the intelligence service of communist Czechoslovakia (StB) and ongoing discussions about the possible collaboration of key individuals, this project contributes to the debate on the significance of these materials for Cold War studies. The StB documents offer valuable insights into the aims and methods of communist secret services, shedding new and original light on the dynamics of this conflict. Specifically, the project will focus on Latin America, where StB activity, especially after the Cuban Revolution, was particularly intense, positioning Czechoslovakia as one of the key players in the Cold War. A central theme of the project is understanding the motivations behind local contacts' cooperation with communist intelligence services. The main hypothesis is that the global Left, despite being divided in many respects, was able to achieve a certain unity of action by identifying common struggles that transcended other strategic and ideological debates ("anti-imperialism" and the defense of Cuba).

Investigator

• doc. Mgr. Michal Zourek, Ph.D.  (Philosophical Faculty UHK)

Timeframe

• 2026–2028

Identification

• GAČR