Costa Rica: A Peaceful Nation Ready to Fight - Case Studies of 30 Years of War Between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, Contra War, and Present Day Border Disputes and the ICJ - Realism and Liberalism

This report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. The purpose of this study is to assess how a small nation like Costa Rica, which is committed to peace and lacks a military, is able to safeguard national security and territorial sovereignty while responding to a series of hostile external disputes with neighboring Nicaragua. It examines how Costa Rica's actions and decisions in response to these disputes supports or impugns established tenets of international relations theory. Three case studies examine distinct periods of Costa Rican relations with Nicaragua, extending from the abolition of Costa Rica's military in 1948 to the present-day. The findings are evaluated with respect to realist, liberal and constructivist theory. Costa Rica's behavior best supports tenets of constructivist theory as it is undoubtedly influenced by socially constructed norms. These norms include a strong commitment to diplomatic dispute resolution, a general public perception that Nicaragua cannot be trusted and that some domestic capacity to employ force is an acceptable deviation from the nation's commitment to diplomacy.

This compilation includes a reproduction of the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.

I. Introduction * A. Major Research Question * B. Significance of the Research Question * C. Literature Review * D. Potential Explanations and Hypotheses * E. Research Design * F. Early History of Costa Rica * II. Case Study #1 (1948-1979): Thirty Years Of War Between Costa Rica And Nicaragua * A. Summary of Events * B. Realism * C. Liberalism * D. Constructivism * III. Case Study #2 (1979-1989): The Contra War * A. Summary of Events * B. Realism * C. Liberalism * D. Constructivism * IV. Case Study #3 (1990-Present Day): Border Disputes And The ICJ * A. Summary of Events * B. Realism * C. Liberalism * D. Constructivism * V. Conclusion

The principal questions addressed in this study are as follows: 1. Why does Costa Rica, as a nation dedicated to peace, continue to train, equip, and employ specialized units of its police force and provide support to guerilla forces in multiple disputes with Nicaragua? 2. How does Costa Rica's response to disputes with Nicaragua since 1948 support or impugn established international relations theory? While Costa Rica's response to external threats can be effectively explained using realist or liberal narratives in some instances, this study shows that Constructivist theory provides the most compelling explanation. Costa Rica's enduring commitment to peace and concurrent willingness to provide support to guerrilla forces and maintain a limited domestic force capable of rapidly engaging external threats from Nicaragua are best explained by Constructivist theories. The protracted conflict between the two nations has fomented a profound and enduring negative perception and distrust of Nicaragua by Costa Ricans. These socially constructed legacies have had the greatest influence over Costa Rica's behavior in the disputes with Nicaragua examined in this study.