Institutional weakness as a blessing: the origins and development of Costa Rican exceptionalism vis-à-vis Central America’s structural disadvantage within the capitalist world-system

On the eve of the Spanish colonization of Central America, the most uncentralized area in the region was the meeting point of Mesoamerican and South American civilisations, which subsequently became known as Costa Rica. Unlike the centralized city-states to its North and South, the Spanish found this area one of the most difficult to conquer, and had to postpone their settlement ventures in certain parts of the region. It is apparent that the political organization of pre-Hispanic Costa Rica had a significant impact on the future development of the country. Once the poorest colony in Central America, Costa Rica has become the most prosperous country in the region and is often described as the Central American exception. Using world-systems analysis, this thesis conducts an institutional analysis of Costa Rica within its regional and systemic contexts in order to explain the origins and development of Costa Rican exceptionalism. The evidence demonstrates that Costa Rica has had weaker political institutions from pre-Hispanic to modern times. Strong, authoritarian institutions have been extremely beneficial for imperial powers operating in Central America. This explains why they have either employed authoritarian methods of control, or have supported regimes that have employed such methods on their own citizens. This thesis will elucidate how Costa Rica’s comparative lack of authoritarianism, has meant that the country has experienced less structural disadvantage than the other Central American republics. Costa Rica presents an interesting case where a peripheral country has managed to escape Central America’s colonial legacy of extreme poverty and violence.