"Finally, a study that moves beyond abstract assertions of the importance of a transnational perspective to demonstrate compellingly why transnationalism matters in the specific context of Central America. This is a rich, interdisciplinary look at regional history, politics, and society--of immense value for students of Latin American studies and transnationalism alike."--Thomas Legler, coeditor of Promoting Democracy in the Americas Political theorists tend to write about the countries of Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama) either as individual nation-states or as the pawns and victims of international intervention. What these approaches ignore is the shared history of these countries, which were a single nation until domestic and colonial forces dissolved it in the early nineteenth century. In Transnational Politics in Central America, Luis Roniger argues for the importance of examining the connected history, close relationships and mutual impact of the societies of Central America upon one another. Eschewing well-trod theoretical approaches that do not account for the existence of transnational dynamics before the current stage of globalization, this landmark book identifies recurring trends of state fragmentation and attempts at reunification or social and political association in the region over the past two centuries.

This book investigates Central America's political economy seen through the lens of its powerful business groups. It provides unique insight into their strategies when confronted with a globalized economy, their impact on development of the isthmus, and how they shape the political and economic institutions governing local varieties of capitalism.

Capitalism has disrupted the conventional pattern of revolutionary upheaval, civil wars, and pacification in Central America; William Robinson maps the shape of change in the region.

During the 1990s, as widespread perception spread of declining state sovereignty, activists and social movement organizations began to form transnational networks and coalitions to pressure both intergovernmental organizations and national governments on a variety of issues. Research has focused on the formation of these transnational networks, campaigns, and coalitions; their objectives, strategies and tactics; and their impact. Yet the issue of how participation in transnational networks influences national level mobilization has been little analyzed. What effects has the experience of social movement organizations at the transnational scale had for the development at the national scale? This volume addresses this significant gap in the literature on transnational collective action by building on approaches that stress the multi-level characteristics of transnational relations. Edited by noted Latin American politics scholar Eduardo Silva, the contributions focus on four distinct themes to which the empirical chapters contribute: Building a Transnational Relations Approach to Multi-Level Interaction; Transnational Relations and Left Governments; North-South and South-South Linkages; and The "Normalization" of Labor. Bridging the Divide will add considerably to empirical knowledge of the ways in which transnational and national factors dynamically interact in Latin America. Additionally, the mid-range theorizing of the empirical chapters, along with the mix of positive and negative cases, raises new hypotheses and questions for further study.

This book offers an indepth analysis of the confrontation between popular movements and repressive regimes in Central America for the three decades beginning in 1960, particularly in El Salvador and Guatemala. It examines both urban and rural groups as well as both nonviolent social movements and revolutionary movements. It studies the impact of state violence on contentious political movements as well as defends the political process model for studying such movements.

Central Americans are the third largest and fastest growing Latino population in the United States. And yet, despite their demographic presence, there has been little scholarship focused on this group. Constituting Central American-Americans is an exploration of the historical and disciplinary conditions that have structured U.S. Central American identity and of the ways in which this identity challenges how we frame current discussions of Latina/o, American ethnic, and diasporic identities. By focusing on the formation of Central American identity in the U.S., Maritza E. Cárdenas challenges us to think about Central America and its diaspora in relation to other U.S. ethno-racial identities.

Latin America is a region made up of multiple states with a diversity of races, ethnicities, and cultures. In 'Transnational Perspectives on Latin America', Luis Roniger argues that a regional perspective is significant for understanding this part of the Western hemisphere. He claims that geopolitical, sociological, and cultural trends molded a contiguity of influences, shaping a transnational arena of connected histories, cross-border interactions, and shared visions, complementing the process of separate nation-state formation.--