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Sandinista-Contras conflict

Definition

The Sandinista-Contras conflict was a series of civil wars in Nicaragua during the 1980s between the socialist Sandinistas and the US-backed Contras. It was part of the larger Cold War struggle between communism and capitalism.

Analogy

Think of this like a high-stakes game of chess, where Nicaragua is the board, and the players are superpowers (the US and USSR). Each side is trying to control as many pieces (or in this case, political ideologies) on the board as possible.

Related terms

Cold War: A period of geopolitical tension between two superpowers, the Soviet Union with its satellite states (Eastern Bloc), and the United States with its allies after World War II.

Proxy war: A war instigated by a major power that does not itself participate. In this case, it refers to how superpowers used smaller countries like Nicaragua to fight their battles indirectly.

Socialism: A political ideology that advocates for social ownership and democratic control over production means. The Sandinistas in Nicaragua were proponents of socialism.