Week Ten

This week in Professor Stark’s class we discussed the history of Nicaragua and the Somoza and Sandinista periods. One thing I found particularly interesting, and a bit disturbing at the same time, was how large of an influence the United States had in Nicaragua. Obviously, throughout history we hear about United States and their foreign interference, but to me, their foothold in Nicaragua seemed to be pushing the boundaries. The fact that the Reagan administration did everything in their power to try and undermine the Sandinista regime seemed unethical in a sense. The Sandinistas wished to retain foreign relations with the United States, they just didn’t want to be subservient to them. Reagan, however, saw this as a threat to US business and to democracy and as a result began trying to destabilize the government and the economy of Nicaragua. There was also a rumor that Nicaragua was a communist country, but this couldn’t be possible since they were a pluralist society that did not want to follow the Cuban and Soviet models. After learning of the US influence, I realize why we as a country have such rocky relationships with other nations. It seems that in many cases, we have overstepped our bounds, and almost every time it’s for our own benefit. I am curious to see how our foreign policy changes in the future, if at all, with the new Trump administration. Since Obama tried so hard to create positive relations with other countries, I wonder if Trump will do the same in his endeavors as president.