John Booth has written a wide-ranging history of modern Nicaragua, synthesizing a substantial body of literature on the topic. Borrowing from José Coronel Urtecho, Booth describes Nicaragua’s history as “the history of civil war,” and traces the perennial conflicts between Liberal and Conservative forces through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He reviews the growing intervention of the United States and its role in creating the Somoza family. The bulk of Booth’s book focuses on the Somoza period (1933-79). It describes the methods used by the dynasty to consolidate its control over the state, and traces the growing, broad-based domestic and international hostility to the regime. The culmination of this opposition in the 1977-79 insurrection and the ascendence of the Sandinistas are analyzed in some detail.
This work concludes with two chapters on the new, revolutionary government. The first describes the consolidation of Sandinista political power following the ouster of Somoza and the establishment of new state institutions. Drawing on his experiences as a member of the Latin American Studies Association task force that observed the Nicaraguan elections, Booth offers a first-hand evaluation of the November 1984 presidential and constituent assembly elections. The following chapter analyzes the programs and policies adopted by the Sandinistas through the beginning of 1985. Booth concludes that the new government has been pragmatic rather than ideological; that it is committed to a mixed economic model; that it retains an element of pluralism; and that its political and economic ties to Western Europe and Latin America remain significant.
This detailed discussion of modern Nicaraguan history is wrapped in a veneer of revolutionary theory. The introductory chapter presents a sketchy overview of Ted Robert Gurr’s theory (Why Men Rebel) of “relative deprivation” and political violence, and examines Thomas H. Green’s catalogue (Comparative Revolutionary Movements) of the components of revolution. The concluding chapter briefly returns to these themes, and suggests some general applications to the Nicaraguan case.
Booth’s book is one of the best descriptions in English of events leading up to the Nicaraguan revolution. By providing a solid background on the Somoza era, it allows the reader to assess both continuities and discontinuities in the revolutionary period. Booth displays skills as both a synthesizer of existing literature and as a political journalist. The result is an excellent text for classroom use, and a strong, readable introduction to Nicaragua for the general reader.
