Democratic Transitions in Central America.

Jorge I. Dominguez and Marc Lindenberg (eds.), (Gainesville, FI: University of Florida Press, 1997), pp. xx+210, $49.95; [pounds]45.00.

The deluge of transitologia for Latin America as a whole stands in contrast to the relative paucity of literature on democratic transition in Central America. This collection, covering Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama, focuses firmly on the role of elites in the transition by means of soliciting contributions from prominent political actors in the region. However, while this yields some interesting observations and juxtapositions of views, it largely fails to provide any systematic answers to the four broad questions the editors attempt to address: how do the powerful yield their power? How do key figures bring about political liberalisation and democratisation against 'seemingly impossible …