This book reflects a new approach to Cold War history that stresses the importance of small states, as opposed to earlier analyses of the competition between the Western powers and the Soviet Union. Mateo Jarquín, a historian at Chapman University, assesses the impact of the Sandinista Front of National Liberation (FSLN) on world events. He argues that the FSLN made numerous tactical choices that were crucial in bringing about the overthrow of dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle in Nicaragua in July 1979. Flexibility in tactics and choice of alliances enabled the Sandinistas to remain in power until their electoral defeat in February 1990. This was despite a confrontation with the United States and a U.S.-supported insurgency, labeled by the Sandinistas as the “Contras.” Key to the FSLN's success was its ability to obtain financial and diplomatic support from non-Soviet-bloc sources, especially in Latin America and Western Europe. Equally important was the...

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