Accusations for making other countries "banana republics" are often directed at the United States of America, with particular emphasis on the role of Central Intelligence Agency.
Traditionally, the controlling foreign power need not be a state: a corporation such as the United Fruit Company can provide all the guidance that a banana republic might require. The affliction of such an imposition can be appreciated in a poem by Pablo Neruda, titled "La United Fruit Co." in Spanish.
The term is also often used to describe a generally unstable or "backwards" dictatorial regime.
Banana Republic is also the name of a chain of clothing stores owned by The Gap[?].
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