Presidential Decision Making Adrift: The Carter Administration and the Mariel Boatlift

by David W. Engstrom

Overview

The subject of refugee policy has generated considerable public debate during the past decade. In this case study of presidential decision-making, David W. Engstrom analyzes the Carter Administration's response to the Mariel boatlift from Cuba in 1979. Engstrom argues that a faulty decision making structure and ignorance of the historic dynamics of Cuban immigration contributed to the government's mishandling of the refugee crisis. More generally, he explores the ways in which refugee policy is shaped by foreign policy concerns, domestic politics, and economic circumstances. This important book will be of interest to students and scholars of Latin American studies, foreign policy, and immigration and refugee policy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780847684144
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	02/20/1997
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.74(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.56(d)

About the Author

David W. Engstrom is associate professor at the School of Social Work, New Mexico Highlands University.

Editorial Reviews

The Mariel boatlift was perceived by many, including policy makers, as an anomaly in U.S. immigration policy. David Engstrom demonstrates that in the context of U.S.-Cuba political relations since 1959, the boatlift was not unusual nor unprecedented. This meticulously researched and well- written study finally places Mariel in its proper historical context.

Felix MasudPiloto

A carefully researched and brilliantly written bookkkkk

Wayne S. Smith

David Engstrom's study of the Carter Administration's policies towards the Mariel boatlift of 1980 makes a significant contribution to research on this immigrant wave. The author's access to newly declassified documents and extensive interviews in the Carter Library provides valuable data for this analysis.

International Immigration Review - Gaston A. Fernandez

Presidential Decision Making Adrift is meticulously researched and gives us a real understanding of an administration that did not but could have learned from Camarioca. Engstrom's account of the Carter administration's efforts is clear and compelling. Engstrom provides a worthy picture of a government faced with a crisis that carried important domestic and foreign relations implications. Theses first sections of his book contain important domestic and foreign relations implications. These first sections of his book contain important lessons for those who would seek, today, to avoid another Mariel. David Engstrom's book is a needed reference for all government officials who deal with the puzzle of Cuba.

Social Service Review - Charles D. Weisselberg

Presidential Decision Making Adrift is meticulously researched and gives us a real understanding of an administration that did not but could have learned from Camarioca. Engstrom's account of the Carter administration's efforts is clear and compelling. Engstrom provides a worthy picture of a government faced with a crisis that carried important domestic and foreign relations implications. Theses first sections of his book contain important domestic and foreign relations implications. These first sections of his book contain important lessons for those who would seek, today, to avoid another Mariel. David Engstrom's book is a needed reference for all government officials who deal with the puzzle of Cuba.
— Charles D. Weisselberg, University of California, Berkeley

Social Service Review