Donald E Schulz - Böcker

A detailed examination of the roots of revolution and counterrevolution in Central America and the Caribbean, this book draws on the research of an interdisciplinary team of noted scholars. The authors give special attention to the institutional and structural causes of stability and instability—in particular, the traditional role of the United States; the current economic crisis; the changing role of the Roman Catholic church; the influence of the military and security forces, the oligarchy, and the business sector; the problems of instituting socioeconomic reform; the politics of subsistence; and the revolutionary opposition. Following the thematic chapters, a country-by-country focus is employed to assess the situations in El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Jamaica, and a section devoted to the international dimensions of the crisis looks at Mexican, Soviet, Cuban, and U.S. policies toward the region, The editors' concluding chapter explores prospects for the future of this troubled area.

A detailed examination of the roots of revolution and counterrevolution in Central America and the Caribbean, this book draws on the research of an interdisciplinary team of noted scholars. The authors give special attention to the institutional and structural causes of stability and instability—in particular, the traditional role of the United States; the current economic crisis; the changing role of the Roman Catholic church; the influence of the military and security forces, the oligarchy, and the business sector; the problems of instituting socioeconomic reform; the politics of subsistence; and the revolutionary opposition. Following the thematic chapters, a country-by-country focus is employed to assess the situations in El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Jamaica, and a section devoted to the international dimensions of the crisis looks at Mexican, Soviet, Cuban, and U.S. policies toward the region, The editors' concluding chapter explores prospects for the future of this troubled area.

Prior to the 1980s Honduras was an obscure backwater, of little public or policy concern in the United States. With the advent of the Reagan administration, however, Honduras became a launching pad for the administration's contra was against the Sandinista government in Nicaragua and for counterinsurgency operations in El Salvador. Placing events i

Prior to the 1980s Honduras was an obscure backwater, of little public or policy concern in the United States. With the advent of the Reagan administration, however, Hondurans found themselves at the center of the US-Central American imbroglio, a launching pad for the administration's contra war against the Sandinista government in Nicaragua and for counterinsurgency operations against guerrillas in El Salvador. Placing events in the context of Honduran history, the authors provide penetrating insights into the causes of revolution in Central America and the sources of stability that enabled Honduras to escape the civil strife that consumed its neighbors. At the same time, the work offers a fascinating account of Honduran domestic politics and of the personalities, motives, and maneuvers of policymakers on both sides of the U.S.-Honduras relationship—too often a tale of intrigue, violence, and corruption.