1941–
British historian whose 'Castro' argued US hostility pushed Cuba toward socialism
His 1990 'Castro' is cited as a leading statement of the thesis that US hostility pushed Cuba toward communism and dependence on the USSR, casting Castro as a nationalist and anti-imperialist in the vein of José Martí.
A British historian born in 1941, Professor Emeritus of Contemporary Spanish Studies at the London School of Economics. He took an MA in Latin American Studies at the University of London's Latin American Institute and a doctorate in history at the LSE, and held a Senior Lectureship at Goldsmiths, University of London. Appointed to an LSE Readership in Contemporary Spanish Studies in 1996, he became Assistant Director of the Cañada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies and later Professor in the Department of Government and the European Institute, and has been Emeritus Professor in the Government Department since 2006. He describes his research interests as centring on contemporary Spanish history, with the political career of Fidel Castro, the Cuban Revolution and Cuba-United States relations as another area of expertise.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- early 1960sEntered Trinity College Dublin
- 1990'Castro' first published (Profiles in Power, Longman)
- 1996Appointed to a Readership in Contemporary Spanish Studies, LSE
- 1996–2006Assistant Director, Cañada Blanch Centre; Professor, Dept. of Government and European Institute
- 2006–Emeritus Professor, LSE Government Department
- 2013'Castro' 3rd revised edition (Routledge, 220 pp.)
- 2024Awarded the Royal Order of Isabel la Católica
Related historical events
Research on the end of the Spanish Empire and popular protest
Balfour’s work on modern Spanish history brings together imperial decline, colonial war and social movements under authoritarian rule. He studied the consequences of the Spanish Empire’s collapse in 1898 and the colonial war in Morocco from 1909 to 1927, with particular attention to the first aerial use of chemical weapons against civilians in northern Morocco, between 1924 and 1927. He also studied popular protest under the Franco dictatorship and during the transition to democracy. Balfour argued that Spain’s new democracy resulted not only from an elite settlement but also from mass protest. This is his own account of his research and interpretation.