Repression, Resistance, and Democratic Transition in Central America (review)

This valuable collection of essays by leading political scientists of Central America explores the region's recent transition to democracy. In important ways, it breaks with the standard approach to Central American politics. Rather than seeking to explain divergent regime outcomes, the book examines how all Central American nations came to embrace one form of governance: democracy. It also parts ways with previous scholarship by refusing to view Costa Rica or revolutionary Nicaragua as the benchmark of democratic rule in Central America. In the introduction, the editors succinctly review the vast literature on democratic transition and discuss how the Central American cases further our understanding of this fundamental process. They argue that the primary cause of Central America's democratic transition was political violence, not the peaceful elite pacts that triggered most such recent processes elsewhere in the world. Walker and Armony thus consider the Central American cases a vantage point for exploring the key role non-elite groups and external actors play in democratic change.

The book opens with six essays on the three distinct paths to democratic rule in Central America. John Booth and Thomas Walker analyze how democracy in Costa Rica and Nicaragua was brought about by violent regime changes: the 1948 civil war and the 1979 Sandinista revolution. Susanne Jonas/Thomas Walker and Shawn Bird/Philip Williams show how negotiations between leftist guerrillas and right-wing governments in Guatemala and El Salvador propelled both countries' democratic transition. For Honduras and Panama, Mark Ruhl and Steve Ropp stress how both countries' circuitous path toward democracy was crucially shaped by the United States. All authors do a remarkable job of describing each country's complex process of democratization. Ropp's is an especially intriguing chapter for it attempts to view Panama's transition in light of competing national identity projects. Also noteworthy is the stress that all authors place on the protagonism of actors not usually associated with democratic transitions, such as indigenous peoples, women's organizations, and neighborhood associations.

The second half of the book consists of thematic essays that examine how four forces--external actors, religious institutions, neoliberal economic policies, and civil society--crucially shaped the region's democratic transition. Richard Stahler-Sholk highlights the ambivalent support the United States showed for democratic change in Central America. This ambivalence, he argues, was largely a result of U.S. efforts to preserve hegemony over its "backyard." Unlike most scholars, Stahler-Sholk also considers how U.S. policy toward Central America was affected by the actions of other powers such as Japan and Western Europe. Jack Child sheds further light on this important issue by analyzing the involvement of the United Nations and the Organization of American States. Challenging conventional wisdom, he shows that both organizations were not only highly effective but often acted against U.S. interests. Next, Edward Clearly explores how the Catholic Church and other religious groups helped promote the region's democratic transition. Breaking new ground, he argues that the highly conservative Pentecostals contributed to the building of democracy. In a more pessimistic vein, Carlos Vilas examines how neo-liberal economic policies have undermined the democratization process. He argues that neoliberal policies have reinforced the region's historical tendency toward profound social inequality and thus authoritarian rule. Drawing on survey data, Patricia Bayer Richard and John Booth in turn illuminate the contradictory role civil society has played in Central America's ongoing democratic transition. They highlight civil society's "darker side" by showing how certain forms of communal activism apparently stymied the democratization process. Armony's concluding essay compares the region's democratic transition with similar processes in South America and Europe. His article provides a stimulating conceptual map for future comparative analysis.

This ambitious book stands out for its consideration of distinct paths to democratic rule...