Synopsis
Over the last decades, Latin American nations have seen an impressive and unprecedented shift from authoritarian regimes to electoral democracy. Latin America’s Politics proposes to look at national responses to the challenges of democratic governance, addressing historical issues as well as current and future obstacles to development.
The analytical chapters offer an in-depth historical treatment of the subject to foster understanding of authoritarian and democratic forms of rule in Latin America in all their complexity. This unique approach has three objectives. The first is to capture Latin American democracies’ challenges and accomplishments, distinguishing between their ability to secure full electoral democracy, but not effective governance. The second is to layout the authoritarian roots of Latin American politics pre- and post-independence and to provide a richer historical explanation for contemporary political dynamics. The third is to examine specific contemporary issues (e.g., market reform and globalization, poverty, judiciary) and assess the democracies' responses, including the rise of the “new left.”
Intended as a textbook suitable for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, the work features maps, photographs, data on comparative developments, chapter summaries, sidebars, and separate definitions of key terms.
Written by an expert with unique academic, professional, and field experience, Latin America’s Politics offers a more comprehensive treatment of the multiple challenges contemporary electoral democracies face, particularly in terms of effective governance.
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