Spain and Central America

Autorentext

ROBIN L. ROSENBERG is Deputy Executive Director of the North-South Center at the University of Miami, Coral Gables. He has researched this study at length both in the United States and in Spain. He formerly taught at Troy State University and has served in Spain as Adjunct Professor for several institutions.

Klappentext

This theoretical and empirical study is the first to examine the connection between the image and substance of Spain's democracy and the country's foreign policy in Central America. Rosenberg establishes a linkage between Spain's political model of democratic transition and Spanish foreign policy on the isthmus, while questioning the validity of the model as a foreign policy instrument. This well-documented case study is intended for political scientists and historians, students, scholars, and policymakers dealing with the complex and difficult relationships between Spain, Europe, and Central America and with major questions about the future of democracy.

The notion of democracy is explored as a historical and contemporary feature of Central American politics since the nineteenth century. Spain's own democratic successes and failures are measured against the abstraction of the political model that the country uses as a foreign policy instrument. The institutional and operational aspects of Spanish foreign policy in Central America are considered against the backdrop of severe strategic, economic, and social crises there. The rhetoric and actions of the Spanish Socialist government are evaluated and considered in relation to foreign policy and democratic development in Central America.

Inhalt

Preface Introduction The Democratic Market Spain and Latin America: Democratic Models and the Search Groping for Theory: The Spanish Democratic Model as an International Metaphor Packaging the Model Reconnoitering the Target Democracy's Moving Target: Central American Prospects and the Strategic Dimension The Push Outward Testing the International Waters Democratic Transition, Spanish Policy and the Crisis in Central America Socialist Policy in Central America: Parameters and Constraints Desperately Seeking Social Democracy: The Conduct of Socialist Policy in Central America Conclusion: 1992 and All That Selected Bibliography Index