of development, the place of planning and the varied concepts used in planning,
the factors of production, the sectors of production, and related matters.

In a chapter dealing with the future, Chapter 8, an analysis will be made of
the alternative implications of duplication of tasks and of comparative advan-
tage. In the early 1990s there is no more important American involvement than
that associated with structural adjustment and the shift to a new development
model.

The last core chapter, Chapter 9, deals with citizenship and political partic-
ipation. A number of very interesting issues of participation percolate in the
Central American countries, and the direction of affairs favors the increase of
political activity. At the same time, the chapter looks at various models,
concepts, and practices of participation, including elections. Interesting move-
ments such as Solidarismo and concertación, while not limited to Central
America, are present there.

Alternative futures for Central America and policy alternatives for the
United States are the subjects of Chapter 10. Just as surely as states are
constrained by their own resources and the international environment, they also
have some room to make policy choices. For both the small Central American
republics and their immense neighbor to the north, there are many choices to
be made. Without trying to offer a blueprint for either, this chapter discusses
options within the context of the basic theoretical framework that shapes the
book as a whole: the state formation and maintenance of position processes.
The project of which this book is the main product aimed to contribute both to
public policy and to academic theory. In bringing the book to a conclusion,
then, I offer reflections on these two domains drawn from the analysis and from
my experience in doing this research.

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