"The most balanced and sophisticated account currently available of U.S. policy toward Latin America in the 1980s, and of the complexities, tensions and difficulties inherent in making democratization in a foreign policy objective. A 'must read.'"--Ambassador Viron P. Vaky, former Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs "The most balanced and sophisticated account currently available of U.S. policy toward Latin America in the 1980s, and of the complexities, tensions and difficulties inherent in making democratization in a foreign policy objective. A 'must read.'"--Ambassador Viron P. Vaky, former Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs

First published in 1991, The Dictionary of Contemporary Politics of Central America and the Caribbean provides a guide to the most important organizations, figures, events and themes in the contemporary politics of Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The countries covered include Mexico, Guatamala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Grenada, St Vincent, St Lucia, Dominica, St Kitt’s-Nevis, Antigua and Puerto Rico. The background information supplied in the book explains how, for many in Central America, the guerrilla wars have merely been the intensification of a conflict previously fought by the likes of Nicaragua’s Sandino or the Salvadorean Farabundo Marti, and before them by the Indian leaders who resisted the Spanish settlement. Although first published in 1991, this book will be a valuable resource for journalists, students, diplomats, business people, and anyone else who is interested in the politics of this richly diverse continent.

Again and again, Latin America has seen the populist scenario played to an unfortunate end. Upon gaining power, populist governments attempt to revive the economy through massive spending. After an initial recovery, inflation reemerges and the government responds with wage an price controls. Shortages, overvaluation, burgeoning deficits, and capital flight soon precipitate economic crisis, with a subsequent collapse of the populist regime. The lessons of this experience are especially valuable for countries in Eastern Europe, as they face major political and economic decisions. Economists and political scientists from the United States and Latin America detail in this volume how and why such programs go wrong and what leads policymakers to repeatedly adopt these policies despite a history of failure. Authors examine this pattern in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru—and show how Colombia managed to avoid it. Despite differences in how each country implemented its policies, the macroeconomic consequences were remarkably similar. Scholars of Latin America will find this work a valuable resource, offering a distinctive macroeconomic perspective on the continuing controversy over the dynamics of populism.

In this study, Thomas Leonard examines the history of relations between the United States and the countries of Central America. Placing those relations in their political, cultural, and economic contexts, he illuminates the role of such factors as the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850, William Walker's invasions of Nicaragua, Theodore Roosevelt's corollary to the Monroe Doctrine in 1904, the "Dollar Diplomacy" of the 1910s, and Ronald Reagan's support of the contra war. Central America and the United States is the fourth volume in The United States and the Americas, a series of books assessing relations between the United States and its neighbors to the south and north: Mexico, Central America, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, the Andean Republics (Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia), Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, and Canada. Lester D. Langley is the general editor of the series.