ABSTRACT
Revolution was a key theme of the long 1980s, and the era began with two revolutions in 1979. The consequences of the first, which ended the Shah of Iran’s reign, were felt in different ways across different parts of the globe for many years. The consequences of the second insurrection of the year, which saw the Sandinistas overthrow the Somoza dictatorship in Nicaragua, were initially confined to the local region of the Americas. This chapter assesses why the two revolutions occurred, the consequences for the people of Iran and Nicaragua, and the ways in which they helped to shape the nature of global politics after 1979. The US’s involvement in Iran’s domestic affairs provoked challenges to the Shah’s rule as Iranians grew concerned about, and suspicious of, Western involvement and foreign domination. The close relationship between the Shah and successive American presidents was interpreted as cultural imperialism.
