What do the South Vietnamese government, the Shah and Ferdinand Marcos have in common? All were allied to the United States; all defied democratic and liberal norms; and all three fell in a blaze, creating problems for the United States. In each case the problem arose in large part because Washington pursued security interests, while the public reacted against humanitarian abuses; and the contradiction led to disaster.;These three cases - and another eighteen more - are the subject of "Friendly Tyrants", the first study to survey the problem of U.S. government relations with pro-American authoritarian rulers. Working over a three-year period, a group of specialists and government officials draw conclusions that offer guidelines to help understand the problem and to make policy for the future.

What do the South Vietnamese government, the Shah and Ferdinand Marcos have in common? All were allied to the United States; all defied democratic and liberal norms; and all three fell in a blaze, creating problems for the United States. In each case the problem arose in large part because Washington pursued security interests, while the public reacted against humanitarian abuses; and the contradiction led to disaster.;These three cases - and another eighteen more - are the subject of "Friendly Tyrants", the first study to survey the problem of U.S. government relations with pro-American authoritarian rulers. Working over a three-year period, a group of specialists and government officials draw conclusions that offer guidelines to help understand the problem and to make policy for the future.