Staying current with history

The February 2005 issue of Current History is out, and it focuses on Latin America. Yours truly has an article on El Salvador. Here's the table of contents:

• "Latin America's Populist Turn," Michael Shifter and Vinay Jawahar

"Latin America's political landscape, highly complex and variegated, defies easy categorization and raises fundamental questions-including whether it might be better to jettison the term 'left' altogether."

• "Beyond Benign Neglect: Washington and Latin America," by Arturo Valenzuela

"Without clear and concerted engagement and a recognition that the consolidation of democracy in Latin America is far from a foregone conclusion, Washington will be unable to regain the momentum for progress lost over the past four years."

• "Fox's Mexico: Democracy Paralyzed," Denise Dresser

"Mexico appears to be speaking the vocabulary of disenchantment. The words 'failure,' 'disillusion,' 'lack of leadership' have become a daily part of national conversation. The consensus seems to be that [Vicente] Fox's presidency is over, that he is no longer a lame duck but a dead duck."

• "Cuba after Fidel," Javier Corrales

"Cuba's democratic transition will be choppy because it will be led by groups not necessarily known to prefer democracy: the armed forces and expatriate businesspeople."

• "El Salvador's 'Model' Democracy," David Holiday

"In the immediate aftermath of the 1992 peace accords, El Salvador was cited frequently by the United Nations and even the World Bank as a country that, with the international community's help, effectively managed its transition from civil war to peace and reconciliation. Thirteen years later, only the US government views the Salvadoran model so favorably."

• "Haiti after Aristide: Still on the Brink," Daniel P. Erikson

"In the 1990s, Haiti was on the front lines of us efforts to help bind Latin America and the Caribbean into a 'community of democracies.' Today, the country is the closest example of a failed state this side of the Atlantic."

It's obvious from this line-up that it's going to be worth a trip to your nearest Borders or B&N (or public library) to buy a copy, but here's a very sneak preview of my article on El Salvador.