1st Edition
Routledge Handbook of Latin American Politics
Latin America has been one of the critical areas in the study of comparative politics. The region’s experiments with installing and deepening democracy and promoting alternative modes of economic development have generated intriguing and enduring empirical puzzles. In turn, Latin America’s challenges continue to spawn original and vital work on central questions in comparative politics: about the origins of democracy; about the relationship between state and society; about the nature of citizenship; about the balance between state and market.
The richness and diversity of the study of Latin American politics makes it hard to stay abreast of the developments in the many sub-literatures of the field. The Routledge Handbook of Latin American Politics offers an intellectually rigorous overview of the state of the field and a thoughtful guide to the direction of future scholarship. Kingstone and Yashar bring together the leading figures in the study of Latin America to present extensive empirical coverage, new original research, and a cutting-edge examination of the central areas of inquiry in the region.
Part One: Democratic Governance and Political Institutions 1. The Origins and Durability of Democracy Gerardo L. Munck 2. Presidentialism and Legislatures Mark P. Jones 3. Decentralization and Federalism Kent Eaton 4. Parties, Party Systems, and Political Representation Kenneth M. Roberts 5. "A Tale of Two Cities": The Judiciary and the Rule of Law in Latin America Daniel M. Brinks 6. The Latin American Military David Pion-Berlin 7. Informal Institutions and Politics in Latin America Steven Levitsky 8. Accountability and Representation in Latin America Frances Hagopian 9. Public Opinion Research in Latin America Elizabeth J. Zechmeister and Mitchell A. Seligson 10. Human Rights and Military Abuses Anthony W. Pereira Part Two: Development 11. Neoliberalism and its Alternatives Javier Corrales 12. Declining Inequality in Latin America: Some Economics, Some Politics Nancy Birdsall, Nora Lustig and Darryl McLeod 13. Environment and Sustainable Development Eduardo Silva 14. Social Policies in Latin America: Causes, Characteristics, and Consequences James W. McGuire Part Three: Actors/Social Groups 15. Social Movements in Latin America Kathryn Hochstetler 16. Understanding the Vagaries of Civil Society and Participation in Latin America Philip Oxhorn 17. Labor Maria Lorena Cook 18. Business Politics in Latin America: Investigating Structures, Preferences, and Influence Sebastian Karcher and Ben Ross Schneider 19. Indigenous Politics: Between Democracy and Danger José Antonio Lucero 20. Race, Politics, and Afro-Latin Americans Ollie A. Johnson III 21. Gender Lisa Baldez Part Four: International Concerns 22. U.S.-Latin American Relations: Power, Politics, and Cooperation Peter H. Smith 23. Intra-Latin American Relations: The Challenge of Promoting Cooperation While Defending Sovereignty David R. Mares 24. International Economic Relations/International Development Institutions Grigore Pop-Eleches 25. The Political Economy of Regulatory Policy: Economic Crisis and Privatization in the 1990s Luigi Manzetti and Carlos Rufin 26. The Politics of Drugs and Illicit Trade in the Americas Peter Andreas and Angelica Duran Martinez Part Five: Theories/Methods 27. Institutionalism Aníbal Pérez-Liñán and Néstor Castañeda Angarita 28. Culture and/or Postmodernism Sujatha Fernandes 29. The Integration of Rational Choice into the Study of Politics in Latin America Barbara Geddes 30. The Enduring Influence of Historical-Structural Approaches Jennifer Cyr and James Mahoney 31. Natural and Field Experiments in the Study of Latin American Politics Thad Dunning Part Six: Critical Reflections on the State of the Field 32. What’s Next? Reflections on the Future of Latin American Political Science Barry Ames, Miguel Carreras, and Cassilde Schwartz 33. The Blessings of Troubles: Scholarly Innovation in Response to Latin America’s Challenges Jorge I. Domínguez 34. State of the Field: Political Regimes and the Study of Democratic Politics Robert R. Kaufman 35. Latin American Political Regimes in Comparative Perspective Adam Przeworski 36. Popular Representation in Contemporary Latin American Politics: An Agenda for Research Ruth Berins Collier and Christopher Chambers-Ju
Biography
Peter Kingstone is Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of Connecticut. He is the author of Crafting Coalitions for Reform: Business Preferences, Political Institutions, and Neoliberal Reform in Brazil and co-editor of Democratic Brazil: Actors, Institutions, and Processes.
Deborah J. Yashar is Professor of Politics and International Affairs and Co-director of the Project on Democracy and Development at Princeton University. She is the author of Demanding Democracy: Reform and Reaction in Costa Rica and Guatemala and Contesting Citizenship in Latin America: The Rise of Indigenous Movements and the Postliberal Challenge.
"The Routledge Handbook of Latin American Politics is the first ever broadly comprehensive overview of the state of this field. It is an excellent resource for scholars, students, and analysts. The authors include many of the most prominent and distinguished voices in the study of Latin American politics of recent decades. They provide state-of-the-art surveys of most of the leading issues in the study of Latin American politics, and they offer illuminating analyses of where the field should go."
—Scott Mainwaring, University of Notre Dame"A comprehensive and up-to-date overview of a region that has always been pivotal to the field of comparative politics. If I could choose just one set of essays to assign in a Latin American Politics course, this would surely be it."
—Nancy Bermeo, Nuffield College, University of Oxford"The Routledge Handbook of Latin American Politics provides a tour de force of the primary questions, history, and future of research related to Latin American politics. This comprehensive volume written by the field’s leading scholars provides concise and readable chapters on themes ranging from political and economic development, to political actors, to international relations, and reflections on the state of the field. In short, it is a very impressive collection."
—Scott J. Morgenstern, University of Pittsburgh"Kingstone and Yashar have assembled an impressive group of leading scholars who provide a thorough and comprehensive overview of all the important aspects of politics in Latin America. This handbook is exemplary in its balanced coverage of the crucial institutions, actors, policies, development issues, and facets of international relations. Highly recommended to students and scholars alike!"
—Kurt Weyland, University of Texas at Austin"Kingstone and Yashar have led a team of specialists to produce an extremely useful assessment of Latin American politics. Each chapter in this handbook is written by an expert dedicated to contextualizing contemporary Latin America via comparisons over time, among countries within Latin America, and across other world regions. The contributors detail dynamics of change and continuity while also highlighting important future questions for citizens and researchers alike. This clearly written volume will be a valuable (and valued) addition to personal and institutional libraries."
—Charles H. Blake, James Madison University
