Of Light and Struggle

"Of Light and Struggle is a beautifully written study that exemplifies the possibilities of transnational histories attuned to the promise and limits of global solidarity movements and their local expressions. Sharnak deftly moves between Latin America, the United States, and Europe, and her account brings together actors and institutions that are typically analyzed in isolation from one another or left out altogether from narratives of recent Uruguayan history. Eminently readable and moving, the book is a major contribution to the history of human rights and democracy in Latin America, and to the study of ongoing movements to build more just societies."—The North American Congress on Latin America

"In Of Light and Struggle, Debbie Sharnak persuasively shows how [this] small country both shaped and was shaped by international human rights advocacy. She also puts into context how Uruguay’s experience highlights the fluidity of the meaning of human rights and the elasticity of the path from dictatorship to democracy to justice...[T]houghtfully and meticulously researched...Although those with an interest in Uruguay and human rights will be interested in the book, Debbie Sharnak’s clear and accessible writing style will appeal to readers with no background in these topics as well."—ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin America

"[A]dmirably lucid, deeply researched and nuanced...[Of Light and Struggle] draws Uruguay from the peripheral place it has occupied in previous studies of the Southern Cone during these transformational years. Sharnak also brings the country into the debate on transitional justice, and she provides a valuable addition to the sparse literature on Uruguayan-US relations in these years. A superb accomplishment."—International Affairs

"In this groundbreaking new book, historian Debbie Sharnak examines the trajectory of rights as vision, discourse, and organizing strategy in Uruguay from the pre-dictatorship period, through the dictatorship (1973-1985), and on to struggles over democratization and justice in the 1980s...Of Light and Struggle challenges us to reexamine the role of human rights discourse and advocacy in the context of political transition in Latin America and elsewhere."—Journal of Social History

"Of Light and Struggle is a deeply researched and convincing case study. Sharnak sets the bar high in her effort to 'bridge both international and global historical approaches by charting the iterative process of how ideas flowed both to and from Uruguay during the late Cold War,' and the result is well-worth reading"—Diplomatic History

"Highly recommended...[Sharnak] takes readers through a penetrating and deeply researched examination of human rights,transnational social movements, and transitional justice as experienced during a military dictatorship in Uruguaythat stretched from 1973 to 1985...The lessons of this book on Uruguay’s slow drift from civilianadministration to military authoritarianism and back remain relevant today."—Choice

"In this beautifully written and meticulously researched book, Debbie Sharnak gives the definitive history of how diverse actors used human rights in Uruguay before, during, and after the dictatorship, not as an idea they had recently discovered but as one that evokes Uruguay’s long tradition of social justice."—Kathryn Sikkink, Harvard University

"An essential contribution to studies of human rights and transitional justice in the late Cold War, Of Light and Struggle exemplifies how countries with seemingly marginal significance to the international system are actually critical for the strategies and languages of transnational activists and U.S. policymakers. This work, fully grounded in both U.S. and Latin American histories and archives, exemplifies the vanguard of new scholarship in the field of U.S. and the World, bridging the studies of grassroots activism and high-level diplomacy. Expanding her analysis into the periods before and after dictatorial rule, Sharnak challenges scholars of human rights to explore the long-term implications of transnational activism on diverse communities."—Vanessa Walker, Amherst College

"In her revelatory book, Debbie Sharnak makes a compelling case for the significance of Uruguay in the larger history of human rights and transitional justice. Of Light and Struggle maps the complicated evolution of definitions of human rights through Uruguay’s descent into dictatorship and subsequent long transitions to democracy and justice. Methodologically rigorous, it tells a truly national, regional, and international story, which should be of interest to all who care about human rights."—Sarah Snyder, American University