Booming solidarity: Sandinista Nicaragua and the West German Solidarity movement in the 1980s

Abstract

This article explores the reasons for the strength and persistence of West German solidarity with Sandinista Nicaragua during the 1980s. The image of Nicaragua played a key role for activists, as it motivated commitment and identification with the revolution. Their positive perceptions were shaped by the revolutionary reforms in Nicaragua and an effective image campaign by the Sandinista government as well as by activists' political desires and their discontent with West German politics. By promoting their reform policies through a transnational communications infrastructure, by practising cultural and public diplomacy as well as by playing host to thousands of visitors, the Sandinistas encouraged supporters to identify with the revolutionary process and feel part of it at a time when many activists felt like an isolated leftist minority in the Federal Republic.