English:Despite constant monitoring, we lack a good explanation for the 2018–2019 protest crisis in Nicaragua. The escalation of protests, repression, duration, and the death toll are surprising.... Show moreEnglish:Despite constant monitoring, we lack a good explanation for the 2018–2019 protest crisis in Nicaragua. The escalation of protests, repression, duration, and the death toll are surprising. Applying a novel political and economic cost framework, we benchmark Nicaragua’s historical and recent political protests and explain the Ortega administration’s responses, thus providing a rich case (with comparative data for context) that makes sense of this extraordinary period of protest. The empirical analysis buttresses our qualitative case study of protest motivations and tactics and extreme state violence that define four phases of the conflict. The combination of qualitative and quantitative analyses creates one of the first robust studies of protest–response dynamics of this protest crisis. We conclude that these protests are unique with respect to previous protests in the country and the region and that government repression was a logical response in some phases but was inconsistently applied.Spanish:A pesar del constante seguimiento, carecemos todavía de una buena explicación para la crisis del 2018–2019 en Nicaragua. La escalada de las protestas, la represión, la duración y el número de muertos son sorprendentes. Aplicando un novedoso marco analítico de costos políticos y económicos, este estudio compara las protestas políticas pasadas en Nicaragua con las recientes y explica hasta qué punto las respuestas del gobierno de Ortega fueron extraordinarias y sin precedentes. El análisis empírico refuerza nuestro estudio de caso cualitativo sobre las motivaciones y tácticas de las protestas y la violencia estatal extrema que definen las cuatro fases de la crisis. La combinación de análisis cualitativos y cuantitativos hace de este articulo uno de los primeros estudios sólidos sobre la dinámica de respuesta a las protestas nicaragüenses. Concluimos que estas protestas son únicas con respecto a otras anteriores en el país y en la región y que la represión gubernamental fue una respuesta lógica en algunas de las fases pero se aplicó de forma inconsistente. Show less
The post-crisis accountability process is a purification ritual that serves to channel public emotions and enables re-equilibration after a severe disturbance of the sociopolitical order. Crisis... Show moreThe post-crisis accountability process is a purification ritual that serves to channel public emotions and enables re-equilibration after a severe disturbance of the sociopolitical order. Crisis accountability literature can be reviewed in terms of forums, actors, and consequences. This setup allows a systematic discussion of how crises impact: the accountability process in influencing its setting (the forum); the strategies of accountees and their opponents (actors); and the resulting outcomes in terms of reputation damage, sanctions, and restoration (consequences). There is a clear distinction between formal and informal accountability forums, with the media being almost exclusively informal, and judicial forums, accident investigators, and political inquiries having formal authority over accountability assessments. Yet, through the presence of formal authorities in media reporting, and because media frames influence the work of formal authorities, the different forums intensively interact in accountability processes. Looking at accountability strategies reveals that the number of actors involved in blame games is likely rising because of increasingly networked crisis responses, and the role of actors has become more important and personal in the crisis aftermath and accountability process. The consequences and success of individual actors in influencing the accountability outcomes is shaped by both institutional settings and individual skills and strategies. A current political power position that exceeds prior mistakes is an effective shield, and denial is the least effective though most commonly used strategy. Accountability processes remain a balancing act between rebuttal and repair. Yet after major crisis, renewal is possible, and post-crisis accountability can play a crucial role therein. Show less
