Sandinista Nicaragua's resistance to US coercion : revolutionary deterrence in asymmetric conflict / Héctor Perla Jr., Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA)
History of U.S.-Nicaragua relations -- International relations theory, asymmetric conflicts & contentious politics -- Revolutionary deterrence -- Challenging Reagan -- Media framing & opposition to the use of force in U.S. foreign policy -- Activating public opinion -- Stopping rollback: evidence of revolutionary deterrence on Congressional opposition, Reagan, & Reagan administration decision-making -- Conclusion: scope conditions & implications of revolutionary deterrence
Summary
This book traces the process through which Nicaraguans defeated US aggression in a highly unequal confrontation
How was the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) of Nicaragua able to resist the Reagan Administration's coercive efforts to rollback its revolution? Héctor Perla challenges conventional understandings of this conflict by tracing the process through which Nicaraguans, both at home and in the diaspora, defeated U.S. aggression in a highly unequal confrontation. He argues that beyond traditional diplomatic, military, and domestic state policies, a crucial element of the FSLN's defensive strategy was the mobilization of a transnational social movement to build public opposition to Reagan's policty within the United States, thus preventing further escalation of the conflict. Using a contentious politics approach the author reveals how the extant scholarly assumptions of international relations theory have obscured some of the most consequential dynamics of the case. This is a fascinating study illustrating how supposedly powerless actors were able to constrain the policies of the most powerful nation on earth
