In this Book
- Varieties of Liberalism in Central America: Nation-States as Works in Progress
- Book
- 2007
- Published by: University of Texas Press
summary
Why do some countries progress while others stagnate? Why does adversity strengthen some countries and weaken others? Indeed, in this era of unprecedented movement of people, goods, and ideas, just what constitutes a nation-state? Forrest Colburn and Arturo Cruz suggest how fundamental these questions are through an exploration of the evolution of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica over the last quarter of a century, a period of intriguing, often confounding, paradoxes in Central America’s development. Offering an elegant defense of empiricism, Colburn and Cruz explore the roles of geography and political choice in constructing nations and states. Countries are shown to be unique: there are a daunting number of variables. There is causality, but not the kind that can be revealed in the laboratory or on the blackboard. Liberalism—today defined as democracy and unfettered markets—may be in vogue, but it has no inherent determinants. Democracy and market economies, when welded to the messy realities of individual countries, are compatible with many different outcomes. The world is more pluralistic in both causes and effects than either academic theories or political rhetoric suggest.
Table of Contents
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- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- p. ix
- INTRODUCTION
- pp. xi-xv
- GEOGRAPHY AND MYTH
- pp. 15-29
- LIBERALISM AND DEMOCRACY
- pp. 31-43
- UNFETTERED MARKETS
- pp. 45-60
- WHAT WENT RIGHT?
- pp. 61-78
- WHAT WENT WRONG?
- pp. 79-94
- PHOTOGRAPHY
- p. 107
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
- pp. 111-115
- ABOUT THE AUTHORS
- p. 117
Additional Information
ISBN
9780292794801
Related ISBN(s)
9780292717206
MARC Record
OCLC
646760631
Pages
136
Launched on MUSE
2012-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No