The local setting. The background to the current political crisis in Central America / Francisco Villagran Kramer -- United States interests and practices. The United States and Central America / James Kurth. The recent rapid redefinitions of U.S. interests and diplomacy in Central America / Richard E. Feinberg. United States security interests in Central America in global perspective / Margaret Daly Hayes. The perceptions and interests of United States business in relation to the political crisis in Central America / John F.H. Purcell -- External influences other than the United States. Soviet and Cuban responses to new opportunities in Central America / Jiri Valenta. Mexican foreign policy and Central America / René Herrera Zúñiga and Mario Ojeda. Venezuelan policy in the Caribbean Basin / Robert D. Bond. Western European perceptions of the Central American turmoil / Wolf Grabendorff. International aspects of the role of the Catholic Church in Central America / Margaret E. Crahan -- The Central American response. National (and factional) adaptation in Central America / James N. Rosenau.