Dr. Jason Parker

Biography

Jason Parker specializes in U.S.-"Third World" relations, studying the formal and informal diplomacy embedded in the interactions between empires, nations, and peoples. His research examines the ways state and non-state actors in the United States have engaged with their counterparts abroad within the complicated matrix of strategy, security, decolonization, and race during the long "American Century." His book, Brother’s Keeper: United States, Race, Empire British Caribbean, 1937-1962, published by Oxford in 2008, explored the actions of U.S.-based actors including the American government, African Americans, and Caribbean immigrants, particularly focusing on their push for independence in the British West Indies. Another significant work, Hearts, Minds, Voices: U.S. Cold War Public Diplomacy Formation World, also published by Oxford in 2016, examined U.S. efforts to win the "hearts and minds" of the Global South during the latter half of the Cold War. Parker's areas of specialty include Modern U.S. history, the Cold War, decolonization, and the Caribbean and Global South.

Research Interests