‘We Can Get a Coup’: Warren Nutter and the Overthrow of Salvador Allende

38 Pages Posted: 25 Jun 2019 Last revised: 27 Jan 2020

See all articles by Daniel Peter Kuehn

Daniel Peter Kuehn

The Urban Institute - Income and Benefits Policy Center

Date Written: June 19, 2019

Abstract

In 1969, Warren Nutter left the University of Virginia Department of Economics to serve as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs in the Nixon administration. During his time in the Defense Department, Nutter was deeply involved in laying the groundwork for a military coup against the democratically elected president of Chile, Salvador Allende. Although Nutter left the Pentagon several months before the successful 1973 coup, his role in Chile was far more direct than the better-known cases of Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, James Buchanan, and Arnold Harberger. This paper describes Nutter’s role in Chile policymaking in the Nixon administration. It shows how Nutter’s criticisms of Henry Kissinger are grounded in his economics, and compares and contrasts Nutter with other economists who have been connected to Pinochet’s dictatorship.

Keywords: Chile, Warren Nutter, Salvadore Allende, FA Hayek, Milton Friedman, James Buchanan, Arnold Harberger

JEL Classification: B20, B25, B31, D78

Suggested Citation

Kuehn, Daniel Peter, ‘We Can Get a Coup’: Warren Nutter and the Overthrow of Salvador Allende (June 19, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3406799 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3406799

Daniel Peter Kuehn (Contact Author)

The Urban Institute - Income and Benefits Policy Center ( email )

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Washington, DC 20037
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