A Diplomatic Meeting: Reagan, Thatcher, and the Art of Summitry by James Cooper

Abstract

wars in Angola and Ethiopia. Castro won Soviet support for his foreign interventions, but he was the one who spearheaded them. His mix of “non-alignment” and close links to Moscow offered a proven way for a small country to punch well above its weight internationally. Under these circumstances, it would have been astonishing if FSLN leaders, flush with success and having momentum on their side, had decided to sacrifice their Marxist-Leninist program and seek a “new sort of revolutionary government.” Even for readers who are not persuaded by Lee’s view of the possibilities of the Sandinista revolution, this is an impressive book. Lee treats Nicaragua and Nicaraguans sympathetically and on their own merits, yet he is also mindful of larger international political, economic, social, and cultural forces. The Ends of Modernization deserves the attention of anyone interested in Central America and Caribbean, North-South, and East-West issues during the Cold War, U.S.-Latin American relations, and politics and international relations in Nicaragua.