There are now 3 million Central American refugees， an entrenched civil war in El Salvador， a right wing contra army fighting the Sandinista government， billions of dollars lost by the area in direct war-damage and lost production， and apparently no end in sight to the violence， tensions， or poverty. The foreign policies of the Reagan Administration， based on a concept of national security threatened by Russia in America s "backyard"， are thought to have been largely responsible for this situation. In this book the author sets out democratic alternatives to current US policy， built on demilitarization and negotiation， and leading to renewed economic growth and more socially equitable patterns of development. A prerequisite of this change is peace in Central America which， he argues， can only be brought about if American motives of self-interest are， at the very least， revised.