The Emergence Of Insurgency El Salvador: Ideology and Political Will (Pitt Latin American Studies) [Hardcover]

Yvon Grenier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 23, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0822940949 | ISBN-13: 978-0822940944 | Edition: 1

Ideas do not reflect nations. They create them, subterraneously, or, as in the case of El Salvador, abruptly, propelled by a strong and impetuous political will. Using this principle, Yvon Grenier challenges the dominant explanation of the causes of revolt in El Salvador. He demonstrates that the ideas and ideologies of insurgents, not structural patterns, are the keys to understanding the roots of insurgency. Grenier's focus is the emergence of insurgency in El Salvador (roughly, the 1970s), a period too often confounded with subsequent periods of the revolutionary cycle.This new information, complex portraits of real people, reveals the inadequacies of simple socioeconomic structural explanations, such as poverty, and exploitation by a narrow elite, to explain the course of an entire movement.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Grenier's book reminds us that ideas have consequences. The fantasies that academics in North America and Europe incorporated into the dominant paradigm, Salvadoran and other Latin American ideologies tried to put into practice, with devastating consequences. . . .It remains to be seen, however, whether North American scholars, who once espoused the dominant paradigm. . . with nothing less than ideological fervor, will show the same intellectual humility in the face of Grenier's devastating critique."
--Alfred G. Cuzan, University of West Florida

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press; 1 edition (December 23, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822940949
• ISBN-13: 978-0822940944
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,263,665 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating critique of scholarship on El Salvador, June 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Emergence Of Insurgency El Salvador: Ideology and Political Will (Pitt Latin American Studies) (Hardcover)

This is a fascinating critique of how North American scholars have interpreted revolutionary movements in El Salvador and, by implication, neighboring Central American countries. The "dominant paradigm" is the idea that injustice + reactionary governments = revolution. Why have Latin America scholars lagged behind others in studying revolution in terms of culture, ideology and agency? Grenier's focus on the role of the Salvadoran universities and political-military organizations suggests an answer. The dominant paradigm removes the revolutionary vanguard from scrutiny. Not being a specialist on El Salvador, I hope to see Grenier's approach taken seriously and debated by other Central America scholars.