Conference 'Central America: Challenged transition?'
14th & 15th June 2007

Organised by:
The Institute for the Study of the Americas, University of London in association with
the University of Glasgow and Chatham House

Supported by:
The Society for Latin American Studies

Venue:
IALS, University of London, 17 Russell Square London WC1B 5DR

Introduction
2007 is a year of historic milestones for Central America, with the fifteenth anniversary of the signing of peace accords in El Salvador coinciding with a decade of transition in Guatemala.

Although the media spotlight has been off the region in recent years, its countries remain important sites of comparative interest. In particular, the negotiated peace processes of Guatemala and El Salvador created an historic precedent for democratic transition from violent civil conflict. The success of the regional democratic project has, however, come under scrutiny in recent years. Present-day indices of violent crime and homicide are amongst the highest in the world, and repressive criminal justice strategies have gone some way towards reversing the demilitarisation of the immediate post-war period.

National economies are meanwhile increasingly dependent on migrants, with around 17% of El Salvador's GNP presently coming from remesas.  The 'importation and exportation' of gang violence to and from the US has also brought a new and explosive dimension to the question of migration.  The challenges of regional integration in such a context are considerable, and yet initiatives in free trade areas and the free circulation of the region's goods and people may have lessons for other integration initiatives.

This conference will explore the major challenges facing the region's governments and citizens today.  It will identify and analyse how processes of transition shaped the region's political, social and landscape, asking to what extent historic cleavages have been addressed by the peace and transition processes and what lessons other regions might draw from Central America's recent experience.

More information about the programme and online registration