Coffee and Power: Revolution and the Rise of Democracy in Central America (Hardcover)

by Jeffery M. Paige (Author) "On January 16, 1992, Alfredo Cristiani Burkard, President of El Salvador, and representatives of the Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional (FMLN) signed peace..." (more)
Key Phrases: Nicolás Bolaños, León Cortés, cultura cafetalera, Costa Rica, United States, Central America (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Over the past three decades, nearly every Central American nation has been at some stage of revolution, and understanding the numerous conflicts required a keen grasp of local politics. The facts were especially hard to discern because other countries, principally the United States, were throwing their weight around and muddying the political water. Now with a nascent peace shakily in place in Guatemala, the last conflict has come to an end, and Jeffrey M. Paige sheds some necessary light on the issues without lumping the entire region together. By focusing on the lucrative and influential business of coffee production and its connection to politics, Coffee and Power: Revolution and the Rise of Democracy in Central America looks at the shift toward democracy from the perspective of the elite class of coffee growers. Though the different nations share a common agricultural mainstay, the socioeconomic realities vary greatly, and Paige expertly negotiates the subtleties of each.

Review
"Jeffery Paige has produced a masterful book which harnesses painstaking historical research to a set of general theoretical propositions with the broadest possible relevance to contemporary political debates." -- Peter Evans, University of California, Berkeley

"Mr. Paige...sets forth a sweeping historical analysis of the encouraging yet still fragile emergence of democracy in Central America...Through exhaustive historical research and enterprising interviews, [the author] penetrates the worlds of the most powerful families of El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica...Mr. Paige has illuminated a path for comprehending countries whose histories have often been caricatured by polemicists and ignored by policy makers. With both peace and democracy tentatively achieved in Central America, the time is ripe for us to achieve a genuine understanding of a region that for too long has been a stranger at our doorstep." -- Thomas Carothers, New York Times Book Review

"Paige's study of the politics of coffee is detailed, well researched, and subtle. It is also theoretically insightful. Paige shows how patterns of land ownership and control of processing in the coffee sector have contributed to repression, revolution, and democracy in El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. One of the best Latin American political sociology books of the decade." -- Susan Eckstein, Boston University

"Throughout the debates concerning Central America, few in Congress or our country understood the history and political economy of these nations. Jeffery Paige's research on the elite coffee families of Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua fills a critical void. This volume serves as an important reminder of the perils of making policy without a better understanding of the peoples who will have to live with its consequences. Professor Paige tells a fascinating and troubling story of repression, revolution, and democracy--one that is still unfolding." -- David E. Bonior, Democratic Whip, U.S. House of Representatives

... a sweeping historical analysis of the encouraging yet still fragile emergence of democracy in Central America... Mr. Paige has illuminated a path for comprehending countries whose histories have often been caricatured by polemicists and ignored by policy makers. -- The New York Times Book Review, Thomas Carothers

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (April 25, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674136489
• ISBN-13: 978-0674136489
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,443,647 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jumps around but still very useful, March 28, 2007

By	Lehigh History Student - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coffee and Power: Revolution and the Rise of Democracy in Central America (Paperback)

Jeffrey Paige is an excellent sociologist who provides an in-depth look at three countries in Central America. Honduras, Costa Rica and El Salvador are all explored throughout this book. There are occasional references to Guatemala but overall the other three are considered because their development has similarities. While they are different in the way they developed economically and socially they came form similar backgrounds. Similar governments formed in all three according to Paige and the effects of this were to drive these countries into a relationship where elites hold power. The social elites of the coffee producers provide an interesting case study to follow. They provide the driving force for dictatorships and while the Depression of 1929 gives fuel to the communist fire the elites retain a wide range of control. El Salvador is shown to be both a civil war and a terrorist problem that must be dealt with by resolution of local politics. Nicaragua is shown through the Somoza regime which grew out of the US marine intervention, dollar diplomacy and our support of the conservatives in that country. The sociological study comes across as scattered at times but in the end provides a useful analysis when considering the disparity in incomes throughout Central America. This book is not for beginners and historians should use it carefully. For those in sociology it is a very useful study filled with many primary accounts.

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice academic study, mostly for scholars, March 25, 2008

By	CJ (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coffee and Power: Revolution and the Rise of Democracy in Central America (Paperback)

Primarily for those who are pursuing advanced degrees in latin american studies, sociology, economics, etc. The chief meat of the book is the author's interviews with various coffee "elites" in the central american region, and their view on business and politics. Loses a star because it jumps around a bit, it is not exactly for someone just getting to know the region (like me), and it's a bit dry at times. So, approach this book with a bit of caution.

7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding study of comparative commodity politics!, February 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Coffee and Power: Revolution and the Rise of Democracy in Central America (Paperback)

This study compares the political economoy of elites and coffee production in central america and goes a long way to explain the political history of the region.

This is extremely well thought out, very nicely written and the underlying intellectual rigor of the book makes it one of the "best reads" for both scholars and just, well, travelers. A really good book