Forrest D. Colburn - Böcker

Why do some countries progress while others stagnate? Why does adversity strengthen some countries and weaken others? Indeed, in this era of unprecedented movement of people, goods, and ideas, just what constitutes a nation-state? Forrest Colburn and Arturo Cruz suggest how fundamental these questions are through an exploration of the evolution of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica over the last quarter of a century, a period of intriguing, often confounding, paradoxes in Central America's development. Offering an elegant defense of empiricism, Colburn and Cruz explore the roles of geography and political choice in constructing nations and states. Countries are shown to be unique: there are a daunting number of variables. There is causality, but not the kind that can be revealed in the laboratory or on the blackboard. Liberalism-today defined as democracy and unfettered markets-may be in vogue, but it has no inherent determinants. Democracy and market economies, when welded to the messy realities of individual countries, are compatible with many different outcomes. The world is more pluralistic in both causes and effects than either academic theories or political rhetoric suggest.

Histories of revolutions often focus on military, political, or economic upheavals but sometimes neglect to connect these larger events to the daily lives of "ordinary" people. Yet the peoples' perception that "things are worse than before" can topple revolutionary governments, as shown by the recent defeat of the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua and the governments of Eastern Europe. Providing the kind of prosaic, revealing details that more formal histories have excluded, My Car in Managua offers an objective, often humorous description of the great difficulties and occasional pleasures of life in Nicaragua during the Sandinista revolution.During a year's work (1985-1986) at the Instituto Centroamericano de AdministraciÓn de Empresas (INCAE), Forrest Colburn purchased a dilapidated car-and with it an introduction to everyday life in Nicaragua. His discoveries of the length of time required to register the car (approximately six weeks), the impossibility of finding spare parts (except when U.S. dollars were applied to the search), and the fact that "anyone getting into a car in Managua can be charged a small fee [for car watching] by anyone else" all suggest the difficulties most Nicaraguans faced living in a devastated economy.Drawing on experiences from visits throughout the revolutionary period (1979-1989), Colburn also sheds light on how the Revolution affected social customs and language, gender roles and family relationships, equality and authority, the availability of goods and services, the status of ethnic minorities, and governmental and other institutions. Illustrations by Nicaragua's celebrated political cartoonist RÓger SÁnchez Flores enliven the lucid text.

Revolutions have often occurred in poor countries. Although triumphant revolutionaries may lack the resources to assume complete responsibility for their country’s economy, they do tend to nationalize what Lenin called the “commanding heights”—those enterprises that meet the strategic needs of the polity. How these enterprises are administered is consequential, and at times decisive, for the course of revolutionary change.  In Managing the Commanding Heights, Forrest D. Colburn explores the Sandinistas’ management of Nicaragua’s state enterprises, with an emphasis on the critical agrarian sector. Central to the book are three lively and instructive case studies that provide a penetrating glimpse into life in post-revolutionary Nicaragua. In analyzing these cases, Colburn explains the intentions of the Sandinista elite and links them with choices made at individual enterprises.  Colburn argues that state enterprises have been politically useful but economically unsuccessful. Even with the unseen political advantages of state enterprises, the pronounced financial losses of nationalized farms and factories exacerbate the economic—and ultimately political—vulnerability of a regime already weakened by counterrevolution. The evidence demonstrates trenchant limitations to a revolutionary state’s capacity to improve popular welfare. State capacity is undermined by multiple factors: international constraints on the autonomy of post-revolutionary regimes, sheer poverty, the unintended but inevitable political manipulation of the economy, the lack of managerial ability among even well-intentioned elites, and a revolutionary mentalité that erodes rationality. These same difficulties have bedeviled other post-revolutionary regimes, notably those in Africa.  Managing the Commanding Heights is essential reading for anyone interested in the dynamics of revolutionary regimes and the possibilities for radical change in poor countries.  This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1990.

Post-Revolutionary Nicaragua: State, Class, and the Dilemmas of Agrarian Policy offers a penetrating analysis of the challenges faced by the Sandinista regime following the overthrow of the Somoza dynasty in 1979. Written in the context of a developing nation grappling with revolutionary transformation, this book examines how the Sandinista Front for National Liberation (FSLN) sought to address profound social and economic inequalities while contending with structural constraints, counterrevolutionary pressures, and international interference, particularly from the United States. The study focuses on the agrarian sector, which is pivotal for both foreign exchange and the livelihoods of the majority of Nicaraguans, analyzing the government’s policies toward various agricultural strata, from large cotton and coffee producers to small farmers and wage laborers.Through a detailed sector analysis and extensive fieldwork conducted between 1981 and 1984, the author unravels the complexities of policy implementation and its socio-political ramifications. The book highlights the inherent tensions in post-revolutionary governance, including the need to balance ideological commitments with economic pragmatism. It also explores the interplay between state initiatives and rural responses, shedding light on how market interventions shaped class dynamics and political alignments. With its rigorous empirical approach and theoretical insights, this work provides a nuanced perspective on the possibilities and limitations of revolutionary change in small, developing nations, offering valuable lessons for scholars of political economy, agrarian studies, and Latin American history.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1986.

Post-Revolutionary Nicaragua: State, Class, and the Dilemmas of Agrarian Policy offers a penetrating analysis of the challenges faced by the Sandinista regime following the overthrow of the Somoza dynasty in 1979. Written in the context of a developing nation grappling with revolutionary transformation, this book examines how the Sandinista Front for National Liberation (FSLN) sought to address profound social and economic inequalities while contending with structural constraints, counterrevolutionary pressures, and international interference, particularly from the United States. The study focuses on the agrarian sector, which is pivotal for both foreign exchange and the livelihoods of the majority of Nicaraguans, analyzing the government’s policies toward various agricultural strata, from large cotton and coffee producers to small farmers and wage laborers.Through a detailed sector analysis and extensive fieldwork conducted between 1981 and 1984, the author unravels the complexities of policy implementation and its socio-political ramifications. The book highlights the inherent tensions in post-revolutionary governance, including the need to balance ideological commitments with economic pragmatism. It also explores the interplay between state initiatives and rural responses, shedding light on how market interventions shaped class dynamics and political alignments. With its rigorous empirical approach and theoretical insights, this work provides a nuanced perspective on the possibilities and limitations of revolutionary change in small, developing nations, offering valuable lessons for scholars of political economy, agrarian studies, and Latin American history.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1986.

Revolutions have often occurred in poor countries. Although triumphant revolutionaries may lack the resources to assume complete responsibility for their country’s economy, they do tend to nationalize what Lenin called the “commanding heights”—those enterprises that meet the strategic needs of the polity. How these enterprises are administered is consequential, and at times decisive, for the course of revolutionary change.  In Managing the Commanding Heights, Forrest D. Colburn explores the Sandinistas’ management of Nicaragua’s state enterprises, with an emphasis on the critical agrarian sector. Central to the book are three lively and instructive case studies that provide a penetrating glimpse into life in post-revolutionary Nicaragua. In analyzing these cases, Colburn explains the intentions of the Sandinista elite and links them with choices made at individual enterprises.  Colburn argues that state enterprises have been politically useful but economically unsuccessful. Even with the unseen political advantages of state enterprises, the pronounced financial losses of nationalized farms and factories exacerbate the economic—and ultimately political—vulnerability of a regime already weakened by counterrevolution. The evidence demonstrates trenchant limitations to a revolutionary state’s capacity to improve popular welfare. State capacity is undermined by multiple factors: international constraints on the autonomy of post-revolutionary regimes, sheer poverty, the unintended but inevitable political manipulation of the economy, the lack of managerial ability among even well-intentioned elites, and a revolutionary mentalité that erodes rationality. These same difficulties have bedeviled other post-revolutionary regimes, notably those in Africa.  Managing the Commanding Heights is essential reading for anyone interested in the dynamics of revolutionary regimes and the possibilities for radical change in poor countries.  This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1990.

After decades of ideological struggle, much of it in the service of an elusive socialist ideal, Latin America has embraced liberalism--democracy and unfettered markets. But liberalism has triumphed more by default than through exuberance. The region's democracies are fragile and lethargic. Despite pronounced social inequality, widespread poverty, and other difficulties, the populace is not engaged in deep discussions about state and society. The end of ideological contests has dampened political conflict, but likewise lessened the sense of urgency for solving trenchant problems. Political fatigue and devotion to acquisition have smothered egalitarianism as even an ideal. There is an uneasy social indifference. Latin America at the End of Politics explores this period of circumscribed political passions through deft portrayals of crucial political, economic, social, and cultural issues: governance, entrepreneurs and markets, urban bias, poverty, the struggle for women's equality, consumerism, crime, environmental degradation, art, and migration of the poor.Discussions of these issues are enriched by the poignant narratives of emblematic individuals, many of whom are disoriented by the ideological void of the era. Forrest Colburn's highly original analysis draws on his deep scholarly and personal familiarity with Latin America. The collage of issues discussed, set in a provocative framework, offers a compelling interpretation of Latin America in the aftermath of the last century's ideological battles--and a way to begin to talk about the region's future.

Peasant rebellions are uncommon. "Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance" explores peasants' foot dragging, feigned ingorance, false compliance, manipulation, flight, slander, theft, arson, sabotage, and similar prosaic forms of struggle. These kinds of resistance stop well short of collective defiance, a strategy usually suicidal for the subordinate. The central argument about peasant resistance is presented in the opening chapter by James Scott in which he summarizes and extends the thesis of his book on Malaysia's peasantry, "Weapons of the Weak". Scott's ideas are employed and refined in the ensuing seven country studies of peasant resistance: Poland, India, Egypt, Colombia, China, Nicaragua and Zimbabwe.

Peasant rebellions are uncommon. "Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance" explores peasants' foot dragging, feigned ingorance, false compliance, manipulation, flight, slander, theft, arson, sabotage, and similar prosaic forms of struggle. These kinds of resistance stop well short of collective defiance, a strategy usually suicidal for the subordinate. The central argument about peasant resistance is presented in the opening chapter by James Scott in which he summarizes and extends the thesis of his book on Malaysia's peasantry, "Weapons of the Weak". Scott's ideas are employed and refined in the ensuing seven country studies of peasant resistance: Poland, India, Egypt, Colombia, China, Nicaragua and Zimbabwe.