Necessity for Consistent and Understandable Engagement Policies with Non-State Actors
Abstract
How does a nonstate actor, namely a recognized armed insurgent group, transition to the political realm from insurgent to state actor, and what are the implications of such transitions for U.S. foreign policy? The United States does not appear to have a cohesive, comprehensive policy toward nonstate actors who assume a leadership role in a sovereign state. The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) of Nicaragua is one example of a nonstate group that transitioned to a national ruling party. The focus of this paper is the transition of the Sandinistas from armed group to legitimate political leaders of the Nicaraguan state. U.S. engagement in Nicaragua began when it was a fledgling state trying to gain its independence, which it did in 1838. From the outset, U.S. policy toward Nicaragua showed a lack of consistency with respect to the tenets of democracy. U.S. policy was a matter of increasing and protecting U.S. economic interests and exercising political dominance within Nicaragua. The ascendancy of Anastasio Somoza Garcia to the presidency in 1937 initiated a period in which the stability of the Somozan government was the United States' primary foreign policy objective in Latin America. The United States exercised hegemonic power in Nicaragua by maintaining the Somoza regimes with economic and military aid. The basic tenets of democracy, capitalism, and human rights were ignored as U.S. policies empowered the corrupt Somoza regimes. The FSLN was formed in 1961, and for the next 18 years it waged operations against the Somoza regimes. It finally defeated the last of three Somoza dictators and his repressive National Guard forces in 1979 and assumed the national leadership. U.S. policy toward the Sandinistas was consistently negative, ranging from overt opposition to covert hostility. The CIA funded and trained the counter-revolutionaries, or contras, who were former Somoza supporters who sought to continue Somozan policies and style of government.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA491448
Entities
People
- Andrew P. Fitzpatrick
Organizations
- Marine Corps University