Latin American Political History, Reform Topics of WC Professor's Latest Book

Chestertown, MD, July 19, 2005 — Christine J. Wade, assistant professor of political science and international studies at Washington College, has contributed to the revised and updated edition ofUnderstanding Central America: Global Forces, Rebellion and Regime Change, a seminal instructional text and academic reference covering the long, turbulent history of Latin American politics. The expanded Fourth Edition is now available from Westview Press.

In Understanding Central America: Global Forces, Rebellion and Regime Change, authors Wade, John A. Booth and Thomas W. Walker explore how domestic and global political and economic forces shaped rebellion and regime change in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. This revised edition brings the Central American story up-to-date, with special emphasis on globalization, public opinion, progress toward democratic consolidation and U.S. pressures on political and economic processes. The authors offer a thorough analysis of how global forces act on these small nations.

"Central American reality doesn't exist in a vacuum," Wade says. "To truly understand Central America, you have to recognize the impact that outside actors—particularly the United States—have on the region."

Wade also recently co-authored a chapter, "Central America: From Revolution to Neoliberal 'Reform,'" inLatin America: Its Problems and Its Promise, edited by Jan Knippers Black. This multidisciplinary collection of invited chapters is intended for introductory courses on Latin America, and chronicles the region's ongoing struggle to attain effective sovereignty, democracy and equity. Wade's co-authored chapter provides a brief overview of Central American political economy from the violence of the late 1970s through the transition to democracy of present day with particular emphasis on the impact of neoliberal economic reforms on peace and democracy in the region.

Both books are available online from Westview Press, www.westviewpress.com.

A graduate of Agnes Scott College, Wade received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Boston University in 2002. She is a specialist in the international and comparative politics of Latin America and has traveled throughout Central America and the Caribbean, spending time at the Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón Caña" (UCA) while conducting her dissertation field research in El Salvador. She was an electoral observer for the Tribunal Supremo Electoral in the 2000 Municipal and Legislative elections in El Salvador.