Alfred W. McCoy

Alfred William McCoy (born June 8, 1945) is an American historian and educator. He is the Fred Harvey Harrington Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He specializes in the history of the Philippines, foreign policy of the United States, European colonisation of Southeast Asia, illegal drug trade, and Central Intelligence Agency covert operations.

Early life and education Alfred W. McCoy was born in Concord, Massachusetts, to Alfred Mudge McCoy, Jr. and Margarita Piel McCoy, an urban planner, educator, and descendant of the originators of Piels Beer.

McCoy graduated from the Kent School in 1964, where he earned varsity letters in football, rowing, and wrestling. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in European History from Columbia University in 1968, a Master of Arts in Asian Studies from the University of California, Berkeley in 1969, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Southeast Asian History from Yale University in 1977. His dissertation, advised by Harold C. Conklin was entitled Yloilo: Factional Conflict in a Colonial Economy, Iloilo Province, Philippines, 1937-1955, which examined the region of Iloilo.

Career McCoy began his teaching career as a lecturer at Yale while he was still a doctoral student (1976-1977). He spent the next academic year as a research fellow at the Australian National University. McCoy remained in Australia at the University of New South Wales as a lecturer (1978-1981), senior lecturer (1981-1985), and was eventually promoted to associate professor (1985-1989). He returned to the United States in 1989 as a full professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he has since spent his career. McCoy has been given two endowed chairs during his tenure: John R.W. Smail (2004-2015) and Fred Harvey Harrington (2015-present).

Congressional testimony As a Ph.D candidate in Southeast Asian history at Yale, McCoy testified before the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations foreign operations subcommittee on June 2, 1972, and "accused American officials of condoning and even cooperating with corrupt elements in Southeast Asia's illegal drug trade out of political and military considerations". One of his major charges was that South Vietnam's President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, Vice President Nguyễn Cao Kỳ, and Prime Minister Trần Thiện Khiêm led a narcotics ring with ties to the Corsican mafia, the Trafficante crime family in Florida, and other high level military officials in South Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand.

Awards 1985 - Philippine National Book Award Television credits include:

Interviews "Alfred McCoy Interviewed." Interview by Nelson Benton. CBS Morning News (Aug. 8, 1972). "An Interview with Alfred W. McCoy." Interview by Frank McGee. Today Show (NBC) (Aug. 15, 1972). "Name: Alfred McCoy, Occupation: Author." Interview by John Stapleton. The Tagg File (1980), pp. 5, 7–8, 10–11. Full transcript. Interview by Nick Turse. The Nation (Nov. 24, 2017). Alfred McCoy's interviews on Democracy Now!