# Banana Republics By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2023-11-08 Within the United States, it is not uncommon to hear the phrase “Banana Republic” used to describe a foreign government of questionable validity and efficacy. The term, as it is used within the United States, conveys that those under the rule of “Banana Republics” are somehow unable to form a functioning, democratic government collectively. The background of this phrase is revealing. “Banana Republics” came to exist primarily in Central America as companies from the United States operated in those countries as neocolonialists. Those businesses would often take land, expand the growth of cash crops, exploit local workers, and look to local governments to protect the financial interests of the companies of the United States over those of their citizens. When the local governments failed to do so, American companies would look to the United States government to intervene on their behalf. It was the result of those military or covert interventions that created the “Banana Republics.” Often, democratically elected governments were violently removed and replaced by “puppet governments,” who were more willing to prioritize American business and geopolitical ambitions over those of their people. “Banana Republics” do exist, but they are not a reflection of some sort of limitation of the ability of indigenous peoples to rule themselves peacefully and effectively. Rather, the existence of Banana Republics reflects the longstanding damage done when unchecked economic and military ambitions are given license to dictate what happens within the sovereign territories of others. It is one of the ways those with power subjugate those without. That the phrase is used disparagingly against its victims is a further reflection of how power is enacted and perpetuated. #### Related Items [[American]] [[Power]] [[Business]] [[Economics]] [[Government]] [[Military]]