Central American Studies Commons^™

Between Borders And Belief: Perspectives Of Aid Workers On Religion In A Migrant Shelter In Mexico, Kendall O. Roy

Senior Theses

This thesis seeks to understand the significance of religion in the Central American migration context through the eyes of humanitarian aid workers. It is based on interviews that I conducted in May of 2024 with staff members at a migrant shelter in Mexico, analysis of prior scholarship, and building upon an understanding of relevant religious history in Latin America. I will delve into trends that the aid workers observed in areas such as religious practices and beliefs of migrants, shelter functions that addressed and nurtured spiritual well-being, and the influence of the Church as an institution on humanitarian aid work. …

Essays On The Application And Improvement Of The Geographical Economics Models To Policy Analysis: The Case Of Road Infrastructure In Central America, Ignacio Penagos

Economics Theses and Dissertations

The novel models of Geographical Economy have analyzed the effects on the distribution of economic activity over the area of a given region, generated by different socio-economic shocks. For example, the costs of migrating from one place to another, as shown in Desmet et al. (2018). A key advantage of such models is that, given the structural definition of the market interactions, they can first create counterfactual scenarios based on the economic fundamentals. And second, a broad set of variables can account for that impact. These dynamic spatial general equilibrium models embody features such as measures for amenities, trade and …

A Centrist Solution To Central American Violence And Inequality, Devin Joshi

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The northern triangle of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) has experienced horrific violence, poverty, and a vicious cycle of human rights violations for decades. Repeated natural disasters and the re-routing of the drug trade through Central America are not helping the situation. On the other hand, nearby Costa Rica has achieved a much higher standard of human rights, public safety, and political stability. Why? Costa Rica has put in place four pillars of development and stability lacking in most other countries in the region: a stronger state, an educated population, inter-racial cooperation, and a more inclusive democracy. For …

June Roundtable: Human Rights In Central America, Introduction, Claudia Fuentes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“The Tormented Isthmus ”. The Economist. April 14 2011.

Generic Wish-Lists For State-Centric Policies, Edzia Carvalho

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Central America depicted in the article under review resembles a region visited by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse—colonial Conquest, civil War, Famine and other natural disasters, and poverty, disease and Death. Added to this list of woes are the recent drug-fueled conflict, democratic instability, weak state capacity, and the socio-economic fallout of the economic recession in the United States. While the first half of the article records these problems, the author shifts gears in the second half and provides an array of responses to these challenges, with a forceful recommendation that states in the region focus their efforts …

Conflict Resolution Agenda: Approaching Its Expiration Date, Jonas Claes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Conflict resolution scholars and policy-makers have traditionally prioritized research and policy measures dealing with political violence, treating criminal violence as a contextual factor in their analysis or as a subordinate policy concern. One may wonder why the value of a casualty differs depending on whether the fatal blow was caused by a tank, a gang knife, or even a typhoon. The prioritization of political violence over criminal violence seems morally unjustified considering that the killing rates in Guatemala and El Salvador are higher now than during the civil wars that ended in the 1990s. Despite similarities in the causes, manifestations, …

The Development Of Sex Trafficking In Central America, Kate Zdrojewski

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Human trafficking in Central America has taken center stage since the late 1990s. This increase in public attention has been driven by U.S. initiatives, such as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), as well as the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, commonly known as the Trafficking Protocol. The United States has the reputation of being the leader in the fight against trafficking in Central America, using the TVPA and the Trafficking Protocol as primary mechanisms for anti-trafficking efforts.

The Impractical Ideal Costa Rica, The United States And Central America Reunification, 1902-1932, Donald R. Lam

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines the motivations of Central American Unionists and the failure of their movement in the early years of the twentieth century. The existing literature attributes the failure of Central American unification during this era to U.S. policies meant to maintain a divided isthmus in order to economically and politically exploit the region. A closer analysis of the primary sources, however, reveals that union failed because of internal factors, and that Washington's actions generally favored efforts to rejoin the nations to reduce isthmian tensions. Attempts to reunite the republics failed because of regional and domestic political rivalries, weaknesses in …