Since its inception in the 1960s to the regional negotiations in the 1990s and onwards, Central American integration has been a process characterized by both dramatic advances and setbacks. This book provides a theoretical explanation of this ebb and flow, examining different stages including the military conflicts of the 1980s, the subsequent Esquipulas peace process, and the relaunch of integration during the 1990s under the System of Central American Integration (SICA). Sánchez Sánchez's analysis focuses on the policies and preferences of the larger states of the region, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala, and argues that integration relies on intergovernmental bargaining. Interviews, historical and comparative data are presented in a format invaluable for students and teachers concerned with comparative regional integration, as well as for those seeking a greater understanding of contemporary Central American regional and international politics and development.

This book charts the key stages of Central American integration and demonstrates the advances and limitations of governments cooperating at a level of integration that goes beyond the confines of the nation-state.

This study challenges several widely held assumptions about Central American economic integration, arguing that the key to understanding the failure of the integration program lies in neither advanced economic nor regional integration theory, but in the domestic politics of the states involved. Thus, the author contends that the Common Market was not the cause of the balance-of-payments and balanced-growth crises in Central America; rather, domestic political forces were the major factor in the collapse of the market and the subsequent attempts at restructuring. Professor Shaw disputes the standard interpretations of the role of the technocrats in the integration process and demonstrates that the domestic political elites played an important role throughout. He also challenges the assumption that economic integration is always a force for conciliation, pointing out that the Common Market aggravated some of the conflicts that led to war between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969. Nor are integration programs among less developed countries necessarily instruments of political and social change, according to this analysis; on the contrary, political elites used the Common Market to bypass the internal economic reforms necessary for national development. This study incorporates new material—interview data and other primary source material—on events of the past eight years.

This book explores the widely admitted failure of regional integration in this continent, linking the features of regional institutional arrangements with domestic politics and includes an inquiry into regionalism at the hemispherical level.

In this seventh edition, John A. Booth, Christine J. Wade, and Thomas W. Walker update a classic in the field which invites students to explore the histories, economies, and politics of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Covering the region's political and economic development from the early 1800s onward, the authors bring the Central American story up to date. New to the 7th Edition: Analysis of trends in human rights performance, political violence, and evolution of regime types; Updated findings from surveys to examine levels of political participation and support for democratic norms among Central Americans; Historical and current-era material on indigenous peoples and other racial minorities; Discussion of popular attitudes toward political rights for homosexuals, and LGBTQ access to public services; Discussion of women’s rights and access to reproductive health services, and women’s integration into elective offices; Tracing evolving party systems, national elections, and US policy toward the region under the Obama and Trump administrations; Central America’s international concerns including Venezuela’s shrinking role as an alternative source of foreign aid and antagonist to US policy in the region, and migration among and through Central American nations. Understanding Central America is an ideal text for all students of Latin American politics and is highly recommended for courses on Central American politics, social systems, and history.