Nicaragua Must Survive: Sandinista Revolutionary Diplomacy in the Global Cold War

by Eline van Ommen

Overview

Nicaragua Must Survive tells the story of the Sandinistas' innovative diplomatic campaign, which captured the imaginations of people around the globe and transformed Nicaraguan history at the tail end of the Cold War. The Sandinistas' diplomacy went far beyond elite politics, as thousands of musicians, politicians, teachers, activists, priests, feminists, and journalists flocked to the country to experience the revolution firsthand. Drawing on extensive archival research and interviews, Eline van Ommen reveals the role that Western Europe played in Nicaragua's revolutionary diplomacy. Blending grassroots organizing and formal foreign policy, pragmatic guerrillas, creative diplomats, and ambitious activists from Europe and the Americas were able to create an international environment in which the Sandinista Revolution could survive despite the odds. Nicaragua Must Survive argues that this diplomacy was remarkably effective, propelling Nicaragua into the global limelight and allowing the revolutionaries to successfully challenge the United States' role in Central America.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520390775
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	12/12/2023
Series:	Violence in Latin American History , #8
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	312
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Eline van Ommen is Lecturer in Contemporary History at the University of Leeds.

Table of Contents

Contents

List of Illustrations 
Acknowledgments 
List of Abbreviations 

Introduction 
1 • Internationalizing Struggle, 1977–1979 
2 • Triumph and Consolidation, 1979–1980 
3 • The Revolution under Attack, 1981–1982 
4 • Creative Defense, 1983–1984 
5 • Fundraising for the Revolution, 1985–1986 
6 • Peace and Elections, 1987–1990 
Conclusion 

Notes 
Bibliography 
Index 

Editorial Reviews

"In what is one of the best books I have read on organising, Eline Van Ommen, a lecturer in Contemporary History at the University of Leeds, celebrates the role played by grassroots organisers in transforming history."

Morning Star

"Clearly, van Ommen’s archival research is impressive. In addition to being expertly researched in at least four languages and across many archives, Nicaragua Must Survive accomplishes the challenging task of contextualizing and explaining the policy actions of many different nations, administrations, and organizations. In this task, van Ommen’s clear writing goes a long way."

 

NACLA