The Costa Rica Reader: History, Culture, Politics ed. by Steven Palmer, Iván Molina (review)

Book Reviews 183 scientists who want to understandCosta Rica’s relative success. Kirk Bowman SamNunn School of InternationalAffairs Georgia Tech The Costa Rica Reader: History, Culture, Politics By Steven Palmer and Ivhn Molina (eds.). Durham, NC: Duke University Press,2004,p. 400, $22.95. The Costa Rica Reader offers a broad overview of the historical experience of a small, intriguing country. However, the essays would benefit from introductions providing the reader with extensivedomestic and regional historical context. Scholars and tourists know Costa Rica for its exceptionalism. But is the country truly exceptional‘?Palmer and Molina provide the reader with diverse evidence to suggest that the answer to this question is mixed. Costa Rica’s experience, past and present, differs from other Latin American countries in important respects. For example, it is unique among countries in the region in lacking a large indigenous populationto exploit during the colonial period, and in lacking an extended experience with dictatorship, and in excelling in utilizing state resources to build a welfare state and minimize poverty and inequality even during the recent era of structural adjustment policies. Nonetheless, Costa Rica shares many experiences with other Latin American countries, raising the question whether its image of exceptionalism is, at least in part, a myth (e.g., a long history of single-productexport agriculture ; U.S. intervention and influence in politics and economics; challenges of globalization). The editors imply that this commonality between Costa Rica and other LatinAmerican countries means they can learn from Costa Rica’s successes. What,however,is the averagereader likelyto concludeupon reaching the end of the volume? Is Costa Rica different? Is it the paradise depicted for decades in tourism literature? Or, is Costa Rica just another Latin American country with all the problems that appear to be endemic to the region?The introductionimplies that Costa Rica is special in that its experiences offer alternatives for dealing with many of Latin America’s problems. In this positive light the editors write, “This book showsCosta Rica as a place of alternativesand possibilities that undermine stereotypes about the region’s history and call into question the idea that current dilemmas facing Latin America are inevitable or insoluble” 184 The LatinAmericanist Fall 2005 (p.3), and “Costa Ricans have been able to fashion an uncommonly democratic and equitable society within the small spaces left them in the grand constructionof a global political economy. This confirmsthat ThirdWorld people do make their own history, though they may not make itjust as they choose” (p.4). Following on that introduction, however, the book frequently seemsto offer a surprisinglynegative view of Costa Rica, particularlyin recent decades.The reader who is not familiarwith politics in the CentralAmerican region, or Latin America in general , could easily be led to think that Costa Rican exceptionalism is a myth entirely-that it is in fact a country of prejudice,corrupt government and politicians, drug lords, environmental degradation , and poverty. Interestingly,Costa Ricans wrote many of the works excerpted in this book. Should the reader view the many essays with negative undertones or conclusions as an indication that Costa Ricans are questioningtheir country’smyths of exceptionalism ? If yes, is it Costa Ricans in general who are questioning , or a minority of academics,journalists, artists, and citizens? Carmelo Mesa-Lago’s essay stands out for the positive evaluation it gives Costa Rica for addressing the challenges of structuraladjustmentin responseto the CostaRican chapterof the Latin American debt crisis without plunging into unprecedented poverty and inequality. While making numerous suggestions for adaptingCostaRica’s socialwelfare structureto allow it to endure into the future, Mesa-Lago holds up the Costa Rican strategy as largely successful at avoiding the worst social costs of structural adjustment. Other essays, however, depict Costa Rica as prejudiced against Nicaraguan immigrants,with immenseproblems of urban and rural poverty, destroying its environment (despite its portrayal as the country’snew economic engine), and suffering a political establishmentwith corruption grown out of control. The latter picture contradicts the idea presented in the introduction that Costa Rica’s experience disproves that “current dilemmas facing Latin America are inevitable or insoluble” (p.3). This pessimistic image suggests that despite Costa Rica’s relatively pacific and equitable past, it too has succumbed...