The quest for academic articles revolved around a couple of central themes pertaining to Nicaragua and Central America. The information I was seeking focused on the role and impact of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and more generally, covert and military communication strategies that occurred within Nicaragua and its neighboring countries. And furthermore, the role of religion in the country and its politics, more particularly, foreign missionaries who acted as a news source and influence upon the inhabitants. First, I tried using the Global Media and Communications sage journal database. However, when Nicaragua was typed in the search bar, very few results came up, and the results focused more on Latin America as a whole. The next attempt was the LexisNexis Academic database, but it gave similar results. Perhaps, I was performing the search incorrectly. But regardless, my third database was Google Scholar where I searched Nicaragua and the CIA, and multiple results popped up. After scanning a dozen articles, I came across a great article that described the CIA’s involvement in Nicaragua, titled “U.S. Intervention in Nicaragua.” And, I followed a similar process with the same database, Google Scholar, to find an article based on the role of religion/missionaries in Nicaragua and its political sphere, titled “Religious Dialogue in the Nicaraguan Revolution.” Google Scholar turned out to be the most helpful out of the three databases that I tried.
Citations
Garcia, Edmundo. "US Intervention in Nicaragua." Kasarinlan: Philippine Journal of Third World Studies 1.1 (1985): 1-8. Web. 14 Oct 2010.
http://journals.upd.edu.ph/index.php/kasarinlan/article/viewArticle/461
Reed, Jean-Pierre. "Religious Dialogue in the Nicaraguan Revolution." Politics and Religion (2008): 1-22. Web. 14 Oct 2010.
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=1935924
Summary of Articles
The article U.S. Intervention in Nicaragua by Edmundo Garcia focuses on the history of the role played by the United States in Central America and Nicaragua, including the CIA and its desires for national security. Furthermore, it mentions the United States’ re-control over its ‘backyard,’ which resulted in additional violence, especially during the Cold War, and perpetually weakened Nicaragua and its government. It goes into further depth about the U.S. arming of the Contras and the U.S. Marines’ occupancy of the country and its Central American neighbors, which continually disrupted Nicaragua’s journey for ‘authentic’ democracy and peace. The article also mentions the other side – the Sandinistas. It states that the U.S. had other motives besides stopping the spread of communism, such as its geo-political, imperial and economic interests in the Caribbean Basin. And, it declares that the United States was ultimately flawed in its tactics, and thereby lost grasp of its own ‘fundamental principle’ –the right of the people to self-determination.
The article Religious Dialogue in the Nicaraguan Revolution by Jean-Pierre Reed also focuses on Nicaragua’s history, especially during its revolution. But, this time, it is in the light of religion and the texts and dialogues that were used in ‘revolutionary outlooks’ and discourse. Dialogue can be viewed as a ‘social vehicle’ in which reality is constructed and maintained to reinforce a person’s perspective towards a cause, unite the poor and cause people to question corruption and governmental exploitation. In this case, the dialogue uses Christian beliefs to denounce the injustices of the Somoza Regime and to stand up against hegemony. It also mentions Nicaraguan Christians and missionaries who joined the ranks in the Nicaraguan struggle and helped in the ‘revolutionary mobilization that led to the other throw of the Somoza regime.’ The prime motivators were political factors and socio-structural conditions. Some of the influential Christians even became governmental officials and activists following the overthrow. Conventional uses of religion were made irrelevant in the shadow of revolutionary crisis. Therefore, religion was used as a tool to change a person’s stance on an issue and to convince the people of Nicaragua to be involved in the revolution and take action against dictatorships. After all, a Christian’s duty consists of ‘resisting false beliefs, being brave, occupying factories, churches, and universities, and confronting false authority.’
