ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on explanations for Central America's two principal problems of the recent past and likely future–political and economic system change. It shows that common forces led to Central America's rebellions and shaped the regime changes that led from authoritarianism toward electoral democracy and new economic development strategies. The chapter begins by examining Central America's poverty and its causes, with special attention to the economic situation of Central Americans at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It then examines Central America's political regime changes from 1970 onward and offers a theory to explain them. The theory about system change in Central America comes from simple premises. First, the economic and political arenas of human activity are entangled. Second, nations–their governments, economies, and citizens–exist within an evolving international or global environment. Small nations, such as those of Central America, tend to be sensitive to powerful global forces and actors. Central Americans depend heavily on what their countries export and import.
