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El Salvador's Negotiated Transition: From Low-Intensity Conflict to Low-Intensity Democracy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Richard Stahler-Sholk
Richard Stahler-Sholk*
Affiliation:
Pitzer College
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Extract

Like the reports of Mark Twain's death, the claims of a wave of democratization sweeping Latin America may be exaggerated. Yet the resurgence of electoral politics and the receding of military rule since the 1980s are trends that hold significance both for the future of Latin America and for inter-American relations. The transitions from bureaucratic-authoritarian rule in South America, and from the oligarchy-military alliances in Central America, have been a major focus of recent US policy attention. From the human rights approach of the Carter administration to the Reagan rollback doctrine, US policy became more actively engaged in controversial attempts to define and impose “democracy” in the region. After the end of the Cold War, US action or inaction remained key factors in the events surrounding the 1989 elections in Panama and the 1990 elections in Haiti and Nicaragua.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs , Volume 36 , Issue 4 , Winter 1994 , pp. 1 - 60
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 1994

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