A Nicaraguan Exceptionalism?

148 pages. Temps de lecture estimé 1h51min.
In recent years, child migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have made the perilous journey to the United States in unprecedented numbers, but their peers in Nicaragua have remained at home. Nicaragua also enjoys lower murder rates and far fewer gang problems when compared with her neighbours.Why is Nicaragua so different? The present government has promulgated a discourse of Nicaraguan exceptionalism, arguing that Nicaragua is unique thanks to the heritage of the 1979 Sandinista revolution. This volume critically interrogates that claim, asking whether the legacy of the revolution is truly exceptional. An interdisciplinary work, the book brings together historians, anthropologists and sociologists to explore the multifarious ways in which the revolutionary past continues to shape public policy – and daily life – in Nicaragua’s tumultuous present. Introduction: exceptionalism and agency in Nicaragua’s revolutionary heritageHilary Francis1. ‘We didn’t want to be like Somoza’s Guardia’: policing, crime and Nicaraguan exceptionalismRobert Sierakowski2. ‘The revolution was so many things’ Fernanda Soto3. Nicaraguan food policy: between self-sufficiency and dependencyChristiane Berth4. On Sandinista ideas of past connections to the Soviet Union and Nicaraguan exceptionalismJohannes Wilm5. Agrarian reform in Nicaragua in the 1980s: lights and shadows of its legacy José Luis Rocha6. The difference the revolution made: decision-making in Liberal and Sandinista communities Hilary Francis7. Grassroots verticalism? A Comunidad Eclesial de Base in rural NicaraguaDavid Cooper8. Nicaraguan legacies: advances and setbacks in feminist and LGBTQ activismFlorence E. Babb9. Conclusion: exceptionalism and Nicaragua’s many revolutions Justin Wolfe