banana republics
Unstable tropical nations
Banana republics are small, politically unstable countries whose economies depend heavily on a single export—originally bananas.
The term implies a nation dominated by foreign corporations and a corrupt ruling class.
It now applies figuratively to any government marked by cronyism, weak institutions, and authoritarian tendencies: Critics warned the country was becoming a banana republic.
- autocracyRule by one
- governmentAuthority over a state
- despotismAbsolute one-person rule
- dictatorshipUnchecked single-ruler government
- military coupArmed seizure of government
regime · monoculture · crimes · international · sovereignty · economic dependency · cash crop · rulership · Honduras · tyranny · death squads · puppet government · Guatemala · elections · colonial legacy · United Fruit Company · agrarian reform · economies
- Americas HistoryAmerican Revolution, Aztec Empire, colonial era, colonization, Columbus
- Latin American historycolonial history, independence movements, political history, indigenous history, encomienda
- American HegemonyMonroe Doctrine, manifest destiny, territorial expansion, interventionism, regime change
- Latin America PolicyMonroe Doctrine, NAFTA, USMCA, Pan-Americanism, gunboat diplomacy
- Latin American Economicsimport substitution, debt crisis, hyperinflation, foreign debt, export economy
- Latin AmericaArgentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Cuba
banana republicsliberal democracies
States combining elections with protected rights
Switzerland · social democracies · Scandinavian countries · Norway · Canada
banana, republic, bananas, republics, republican, republicanism