The Nicaraguan-Contra Negotiations of 1988: A Test of The Reagan Doctrine
AbstractThe 1988 peace negotiations between the Nicaraguan government and the contras were noteworty as a reaction to the implementation by the United States government of the Reagan Doctrine and the theory of Low Intensity Conflict against the Sandinista state. That government confronted the Doctrine by reversing its long-held position of refusing to talk with the contras, as well as by agreeing to hold elections at an earlier date than originally planned. A detailed examination of the 1988 negotiations indicates that the government made important concessions to the contras in order to weaken the military impact of LIC; but this strategy could not overcome the economic warfare aspect of LIC. This conclusion indicates that LIC may be a more effective economic than military strategy even though the Sandinistas have not been totally defeated. The military aspect of LIC, furthermore, depends heavily on the strength of local rightist forces.
Honoring the Elders
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Quantum and random-field fluctuations in the SU Schrieffer-Heeger model-a renormalisation group study in the 1/N expansion
The effects of quantum and random-field fluctuations are investigated. The authors investigate within one theory the crossover from M=0 to M= infinity (M is the ionic mass) in the presence of random fields. They find that random fields can close the Peierls gap. A new gap (similar to the spin glass order parameter) is defined. This gap describes the local Peierls distortion which may explain the Raman spectrum in trans-(CH)x.