Sanchez, Peter M. Panama Lost? U.S. Hegemony, Democracy, and the Canal.

AuthorCarletta, David M.
PositionBook review

Sanchez, Peter M. Panama Lost? U.S. Hegemony, Democracy, and the Canal. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2007. x + 251 pages. Cloth, $59.95; paper $29.95.

In Panama Lost? U.S. Hegemony, Democracy, and the Canal, political scientist Peter M. Sanchez analyzes the Republic of Panama's political history and its relationship with the United States. Examining major events and key figures in Panamanian politics from the mid-nineteenth century to the present, Sanchez uses Panama as a case study to explore the issue of U.S. hegemony and the process of democratization in the Western Hemisphere. The Isthmus of Panama was a key twentieth-century outpost for U.S. military and economic power. Sanchez's analysis of Panamanian-U.S. relations and the struggle for sovereignty and democracy on the Isthmus of Panama highlights Panama's difficult journey regarding national democratic development in an asymmetrical international context. The theoretical framework for understanding this development is clearly laid out in the book's first chapter, which provides readers with an explanation of the concepts of democracy and hegemony.

Sanchez begins his chronological survey of Panamanian political history with an exploration of Panama's political system from the time of its independence from Spain in 1821 until its independence from Colombia in 1903. American interest in the region began with the construction of the Panama Railroad in the 1850s, which helped the U.S. achieve Great Power status in the nineteenth century by transporting settlers to the American West and California gold to East Coast businesses. At the turn of the twentieth century, the United States played a momentous role in separating the province of Panama from Colombia. Despite Panama's titular independence, the new nation became a quasi-U.S. colony. In addition, the United States gained the Panama Canal Zone, a U.S. enclave cut across the Republic of Panama. Using over 150,000 foreign laborers, mostly English speakers from the West Indies, the United States began constructing the Panama Canal in the Canal Zone in 1904. By the time of the opening of the canal in 1914, Panamanians had lost control of their territory, security forces, and economic and foreign policies.

The early Panamanian Republic was dominated by a liberal oligarchy that limited political competition and participation. But middle sectors, students, and labor organizations demanded political inclusion and adopted a...

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