Nicaragua

Contentious Pluralism: The Public Sphere and Democracy

Citation:

Guidry, John A., and Mark Q. Sawyer. 2003. “Contentious Pluralism: The Public Sphere and Democracy.” Perspectives on Politics 1 (2): 273–89.

Authors: John A. Guidry, Mark Q. Sawyer

Abstract:

What do peasants in eighteenth-century England, African Americans in Reconstruction-era Virginia, mothers in Nicaragua and Argentina, and contemporary transnational activists have to do with one another? They all illustrate instances where marginalized groups challenge a lack of democracy or the limitations of existing democracy. Democracy is both a process and a product of struggles against power. Both the social capital literature and literature that focuses on democracy as a product of institutions can undervalue the actions of regular people who imagine a democratic world beyond anything that actually exists. The four cases examined in this article demonstrate that marginalized groups use a variety of performative and subversive methods to uproot the public sphere from its exclusionary history as they imagine, on their own terms, democratic possibilities that did not previously exist. In so doing, they plant the seeds of a more egalitarian public politics in new times and places. This process is "contentious pluralism," and we ask political scientists in all subfields to look to popular movements and changing political structures as they explore the promise of democracy and to rethink the gap between democracy as an ideal and the ways in which people actually experience it.

Topics: Governance, Political Participation Regions: Americas, Central America, North America, South America, Europe, Northern Europe Countries: Argentina, Nicaragua, United Kingdom, United States of America

Year: 2003

Country Profiles from Latin America: Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua

Citation:

Leonard, Melinda. 2002. “Country Profiles from Latin America: Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua.” In If Not Now, When? Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Refugee, Internally Displaced, and Post-Conflict Settings, 104–23. New York: Reproductive Health for Refugees Consortium.

Author: Melinda Leonard

Topics: Displacement & Migration, IDPs, Refugees, Gender, Gender-Based Violence, Health, Reproductive Health, Post-Conflict Regions: Americas, Central America, South America Countries: Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua

Year: 2002

A Painful Purgatory: Grief and the Nicaraguan Mothers of the Disappeared

Citation:

Tully, Sheila R. 1995. “A Painful Purgatory: Grief and the Nicaraguan Mothers of the Disappeared.” Social Science & Medicine 40 (12): 1597–1610.

Author: Sheila R. Tully

Abstract:

In Latin America the past two decades have been marked by low-intensity conflicts, state-sponsored violence, and the creations of 'cultures of terror'. This research, conducted in Managua, Nicaragua during 1991-1992 examines the impact of political violence on a small group of women whose relatives were 'disappeared' during the Contra War. I discuss the lack of discourse about the disappeared and suggest possible reasons for this silence in the body politic, the community and the family.

The historical routinization of violence against the Nicaraguan poor and the continuing socio-political instability within the country present specific challenges to the healing processes of the Nicaraguan Mothers of the Disappeared. This article discusses some of the ways that these mothers challenge the collective silence and confront the public amnesia about what happened during the decade of war.

Keywords: Mothers of the Disappeared, low intensity warfare, suffering, terror

Topics: Gender, Women, Health, Mental Health, Trauma, Households, Violence Regions: Americas, Central America Countries: Nicaragua

Year: 1995

Guerrilleras in Latin America: Domestic and International Roles

Citation:

Gonzalez-Perez, Margaret. 2006. “Guerrilleras in Latin America: Domestic and International Roles.” Journal of Peace Research 43 (3): 313–29.

Author: Margaret Gonzalez-Perez

Abstract:

This analysis identifies two different categories of guerrilla organizations and the roles of women within each. Guerrilla movements with ‘international’ agendas typically oppose US imperialism, capitalist expansion, or Western culture in general. ‘Domestic’ guerrilla organizations usually take action against perceived forces of oppression within their own nation. These different agendas have a direct impact on the role of women within them. Internationally oriented guerrilla groups assign traditional, limited gender roles to their female members, while domestic guerrilla organizations challenge domestic prohibitions, including those imposed on women, and encourage full and active participation of female members at all levels of guerrilla activity. This hypothesis is supported by comparative case studies of the groups in question. The study of women’s roles within guerrilla movements provides insight into modern political issues, such as insurgencies and other non-traditional methods of warfare. The support of half a population can enable a guerrilla organization to further its objectives considerably, and as female participation increases, the group itself gains power. Thus, an in-depth understanding of women and their relationship to guerrilla movements contributes substantially to peace and conflict studies as well as studies of non-traditional warfare.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Combatants, Female Combatants, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Non-State Armed Groups Regions: Americas, Caribbean countries, Central America, North America, South America Countries: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay

Year: 2006

Mobilization without Emancipation? Women’s Interests, the State, and Revolution in Nicaragua

Citation:

Molyneux, Maxine. 1985. “Mobilization without Emancipation? Women’s Interests, the State, and Revolution in Nicaragua.” Feminist Studies 11 (2): 227–54.

Author: Maxine Molyneux

Topics: Gender, Women, Governance, Post-Conflict Governance Regions: Americas, Central America Countries: Nicaragua

Year: 1985

New Roles for Sandino's Daughters

Citation:

Kampwirth, Karen. 2002. “New Roles for Sandino’s Daughters.” In Women and Guerrilla Movements, 21–44. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press.

Author: Karen Kampwirth

Topics: Armed Conflict, Combatants, Gender, Women, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Non-State Armed Groups Regions: Americas, Caribbean countries, Central America Countries: Cuba, El Salvador, Nicaragua

Year: 2002

Rethinking Women and Guerrilla Movements: Back to Cuba

Citation:

Kampwirth, Karen. 2002. “Rethinking Women and Guerrilla Movements: Back to Cuba.” In Women and Guerrilla Movements, 117–36. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press.

Author: Karen Kampwirth

Topics: Armed Conflict, Combatants, Gender, Women, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Non-State Armed Groups Regions: Americas, Caribbean countries, Central America Countries: Cuba, El Salvador, Nicaragua

Year: 2002

Arnoldo Alemán Takes on the NGOs: Antifeminism and the New Populism in Nicaragua

Citation:

Kampwirth, Karen. 2003. “Arnoldo Aleman Takes on the NGOs: Antifeminism and the New Populism in Nicaragua.” Latin American Politics and Society 45 (2): 133–58. doi:10.2307/3176982.

Author: Karen Kampwirth

Abstract:

This article analyzes the campaign of Nicaraguan president Arnoldo Alemán (1997-2002) against organized competitors, what has been called his war against the nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs. Alemán's attacks on the NGO sector are shown to be consistent with the logic of the new populism in Latin America. At the same time, his choice of targets-prominent NGO figures who were often foreign-born and always female-must be explained with reference to the specifics of Nicaraguan civil society and its evolving relationship with the political parties. This study argues that by choosing to respond to the challenges of international neoliberalism and local feminism through the anti-NGO campaign, Alemán helped to weaken democracy in Nicaragua.

Topics: Civil Society, Democracy / Democratization, Feminisms, Women, Governance, NGOs, Political Participation Regions: Americas, Central America Countries: Nicaragua

Year: 2003

Counter-Revolutionary Women: Gender and Reconciliation in Post-War Nicaragua

Citation:

Cupples, Julie. 2004. “Counter-Revolutionary Women: Gender and Reconciliation in Post-War Nicaragua.” Gender and Development 12 (3): 8–18.

Author: Julie Cupples

Abstract:

In Nicaragua, gender ideologies - and, in particular, discourses of motherhood - have frequently been manipulated by political forces. In the early 1990s, at the end of the civil war, Sandinista and Contra women in Waslala united to form a group which aimed to end the political polarisation within their community and promote development. Aid agencies provided funds on the understanding that both sides would work together. Discourses of reconciliation were both powerful and pervasive, offering a way of overcoming the hatred caused by war, and bringing about a sustainable peace. These discourses draw on ideas of women as mothers and peacebuilders, which are appealing to many, including women themselves. Yet these simplistic characterisations of women are a flimsy basis on which to initiate reconciliation. This is because women's gender identities do not exist in isolation, but intersect with other identities, including those derived from political allegiances. Ultimately, this led to the failure of reconciliation in Waslala.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Gender, Governance, Households, Humanitarian Assistance, Peacebuilding, Political Participation Regions: Americas, Central America Countries: Nicaragua

Year: 2004

The Strengths and Limits of the NGO Women's Movement Model: Shaping Nicaragua's Democratic Institutions

Citation:

Ewig, Christina. 1999. “The Strengths and Limits of the NGO Women’s Movement Model: Shaping Nicaragua’s Democratic Institutions.” Latin American Research Review 34 (3): 75–102.

Author: Christina Ewig

Abstract:

This article examines the political interactions in Nicaragua between the NGO-based feminist movement and government institutions on the issue of women's health in the mid-1990s. Analysis of the Nicaraguan feminist movement yields insight into the ability of NGO-based movements to influence state policy and into the strengths and limits of using NGOs as an institutional base on which to build a social movement. By defining the mechanisms of state-NGO interactions and analyzing the democratic potential of an NGO-based social movement, this article contributes to understanding of both NGOs and social movements in the context of newly democratic governments.

Topics: Democracy / Democratization, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Governance, Health, NGOs, Political Participation Regions: Americas, Central America Countries: Nicaragua

Year: 1999

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