How do political systems and ideologies shape literature—and vice versa? This volume explores literature's political power in regions where literary texts ignited social movements and dissent, notably in East-Central Europe and Latin America during the Cold War. Unlike Western consumer societies where mass media fueled political imagination, these regions used literature to challenge authority, inspire change, and forge solidarity. With an interdisciplinary approach, the chapters draw on literary theory, comparative literature, translation, reception, and cultural studies to analyze cases of exile, border thinking, memory, and transnational imaginaries. The volume offers theoretical tools to understand the interplay between literature, politics, and power dynamics, helping to navigate the complex entanglements across these geographies often branded as “peripheral”. Moving beyond traditional North–South and East–West paradigms, it unveils cultural and ideological constellations shaped by shared post-imperial experiences and global asymmetries, demonstrating their enduring resonance today. These insights will captivate scholars of world and Latin American literature, Cold War studies, transatlantic studies, and political theory.