Introduction

When the Reagan administration came into office in 1981 revolutionary movements appeared to be ascendent in Central America. The Nicaraguan government was attempting to reorder its society according to what it termed the logic of the majority. The second Reagan administration approaches its end under the cloud of the Iran-contra investigations, neither revolutionary movements nor US-sponsored forces have achieved a victory in Central America. The Reagan administration has failed in its efforts to defeat the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, but at home it has been more successful in imposing its perspective on the nature of the Sandinista government. Many critics on both left and right contend that its contradictions will not permit its consolidation. The Reagan administration policy has not begun to address what many see as the underlying structural causes of unrest and instability in Central America. The Reagan administration has also enjoyed some success in narrowing the debate about Central America at the international level.