Will the real security partner please stand up? Rhetoric and policy support for U.S. security goals in Daniel Ortega's Nicaragua and Porfirio Lobo's Honduras

Abstract

ABSTRACTLiterature on security partnerships and alliance formation suggests that such partnerships are based on shared interests and performance rather than ideology. However, in Central America, Nicaragua has made greater contributions to the U.S. security agenda than its ostensible partner Honduras. Nicaragua is often portrayed as an antagonist toward the United States in both the rhetoric of its leaders and that of many elites in the United States, while Honduras self-identifies as a key partner and is portrayed as an important regional supporter of U.S. security priorities. Honduras also receives a much greater share of U.S. regional security funding. However, while Honduras provides some symbolic support for the U.S. in areas such as voting in IGOs, Nicaragua has more reliably advanced U.S. security interests, including action against narcotics trafficking, combating human trafficking, and supporting open economies. U.S. policies that prioritize support for Honduras and treat Nicaragua as an antagonist are based on ideology rather than practice and risk undermining the U.S. domestic security agenda.