Democratic Latin America

by Arceneaux; Craig L.

• ISBN13: 9780205210336
• ISBN10: 0205210333
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-02-16
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Debuting in its first edition, Democratic Latin Americafocuses on analyzing political institutions as a way to assess broader trends in the region's politics, including the rise of democracy. Drawing on new approaches in comparative politics, this text looks at the major institutionsexecutive, legislature, judiciary, military, and more-in 18 democratic countries to not only provide an expansive view of politics in Latin America but to also facilitate cross-national comparison.

Author Biography

Craig Arceneaux is a Professor of Political Science at California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
An Institutional Approach to Democracy and Democratization in Latin America	p. 1
Institutions and the Study of Democratic Politics	p. 5
What Is an Institution?	p. 6
What Is an Institutional Approach to Politics?	p. 8
Comparing Countries: Do Authoritarians Follow Institutional Rules? Military Regimes and Institutional Design	p. 12
Democracy in Latin America	p. 14
Democratic Transition	p. 17
Defining Democracy	p. 19
Country in the Spotlight: The Struggle for Democracy in Guatemala	p. 24
Conclusion	p. 28
State and Nation in Colonial Latin America	p. 33
Pillars of Democracy: State and Nation	p. 35
Land and People	p. 37
Human Settlements in the Pre-Colombian Period	p. 38
The Colonial Impact on Settlement and Demography	p. 41
The Colonial Period	p. 44
The Arrival, and Conquest	p. 44
The Expansion of Spanish Colonialism	p. 44
Comparing Countries: Conquest in Brazil Contrasted with Spanish America	p. 46
Colonial Institutions	p. 47
Religious Institutions in Colonial Latin America	p. 52
The Long Road to Independence	p. 54
Country in the Spotlight: Explaining the Exceptionalism of Colonial Legacies in the United States	p. 61
Conclusion	p. 66
Constitutions: From States and Nations to Regimes, and Back Again	p. 69
Constitutional Foundations: The Consolidation of Independent States and the Search for National Identity in Latin America	p. 71
The Caudillo Period (1820s-1870s)	p. 71
The Export Economy (1860s-1930s)	p. 72
The Opening of the U.S. Umbrella (1898)	p. 74
The Great Depression (1929)	p. 76
The Populist Era (1930s-l 960s)	p. 77
Bureaucratic Authoritarianism and the Cold War (1960s-l980s)	p. 79
From the Washington Consensus to the "Pink Tide"(1980s to present)	p. 81
Constitutions: The Rules of the Game and More	p. 84
Constitutional Development in Latin America	p. 85
Constitutionalism and Democracy	p. 86
Constitutions and Political Pacts	p. 88
Constitutions and National Identity	p. 90
The Politics of Constitutional Change	p. 91
Types of Constitutional Reform	p. 91
The Source of Reform: The People or Congress?	p. 93
Motives for Reform	p. 94
Institutional Opportunities and Barriers	p. 95
Comparing Countries: What Distinguishes the Structure and Content of Constitutions in Latin America?	p. 96
Explaining Constitutional Change in Latin America	p. 100
Country in the Spotlight: Constitutional Reform in Nicaragua	p. 103
Conclusion	p. 108
The Executive Branch: Latin American Style	p. 113
The Executive Branch in Presidential and Parliamentary Forms of Government	p. 116
The Parliamentary System	p. 116
The Presidential System	p. 117
Origins of Parliamentarism and Presidentialism	p. 117
Variations in Parliamentary and Presidential Systems	p. 120
Latin American Presidencies	p. 121
Constitutional Powers	p. 122
Partisan Powers	p. 127
Comparing Countries: An Assessment of Presidentialism	p. 128
The Administrative Arm of the Executive: Bureaucracy	p. 131
Efficiency and Bureaucracy	p. 131
The Pathologies of Bureaucracy	p. 131
The Size of Bureaucracy	p. 132
Corruption and Bureaucracy	p. 134
Bureaucratic Boundaries	p. 136
Country in the Spotlight: Presidential Politics in Argentina	p. 137
Conclusion	p. 143
The Legislative Branch: The Centerpiece of Democracy Under Fire	p. 149
Parliament and Congress	p. 151
The Functions of Congress	p. 152
Representation	p. 153
Past Roadblocks to Representation	p. 153
More Recent Changes in Representation	p. 154
Lawmaking	p. 156
Initiation	p. 157
Debate	p. 157
Oversight	p. 160
Direct Oversight	p. 160
Indirect Oversight	p. 165
Education	p. 165
Comparing Countries: Legislative Strength	p. 166
Legislative Structure	p. 169
Size	p. 169
Sessions	p. 169
Terms and Alternates	p. 172
Bicameralism	p. 173
Country in the Spotlight: The National Congress of Chile: A Barometer of Chilean Democracy	p. 176
Conclusion	p. 180
The Judiciary in Latin America: Separate but Unequal	p. 186
Approaches to Judicial Organization	p. 188
Common Law and Code Law Traditions	p. 188
Mixed Judicial Systems in Latin America	p. 190
The Rule of Law	p. 193
Defining the Rule of Law	p. 193
The JudiciaryÆs Contribution to the Rule of Law	p. 195
The Judiciary and Other Government Institutions: Power and Independence	p. 195
The Judiciary and the People: Access and Efficiency	p. 202
Comparing Countries: Courts Versus Politicians in Guatemala and Colombia	p. 206
The Judicialization of Politics in Contemporary Latin America	p. 208
Motives and Opportunities to Judicialize Politics	p. 209
International Actors and the Judicialization of Politics	p. 209
The Judicialization of Politics at the Local Level	p. 212
Country in the Spotlight: The Judicial Branch in Mexico: Seeking Reform	p. 213
Conclusion	p. 218
Electoral Systems: The Core of Democratic Politics	p. 223
Voting	p. 225
The Electoral System	p. 227
Electoral Formula	p. 227
Majoritarian Systems	p. 227
Proportional Representation	p. 227
Hybrid Systems	p. 231
District Magnitude	p. 232
Electoral Thresholds	p. 233
Ballot Structure	p. 233
Districting and Apportionment	p. 243
Institutional Distinction: An Ordinal Ballot in a Majoritarian Election: Chile's Binomial System	p. 244
The Electoral System and Political Change	p. 245
Presidential Elections in Latin America	p. 246
Comparing Countries: Direct Democracy in Latin America	p. 251
The Management and Observation of Elections	p. 253
Country in the Spotlight: The Electoral System in Bolivia	p. 256
Conclusion	p. 262
From Civil Society to Political Parties: Putting Democracy into Practice	p. 267
Civil Society and Democracy	p. 269
Parties as Political Institutions	p. 270
Parties as Regime Institutions	p. 271
Comparing Countries: The Rules for Party Funding in Latin America	p. 272
Parties as Social Institutions	p. 278
How Parties and Civil Society Must Work Together in Democratic Latin America	p. 282
From the Party to the Party System	p. 284
Party System Fragmentation	p. 284
Party System Institutionalization	p. 288
Party System Polarization	p. 290
The Interaction of Fragmentation, Institutionalization, and Polarization	p. 291
Country in the Spotlight: Venezuela: Changes in Parties, Changes in Politics	p. 292
Conclusion	p. 299
Federalism and Unitarism: Learning to Share	p. 304
Federalism and Unitarism, and the Range of Centralization	p. 306
The Division of Power in a Federal System	p. 306
The Balance of Centralization and Decentralization	p. 307
Comparing Countries: Centralization in Federal Venezuela and Decentralization in Unitary Peru	p. 308
The Origins of Governmental Relations in Latin America	p. 311
Federalism and the Protection of Regional Caudillos	p. 312
Contemporary Moves to Recognize Indigenous Territories	p. 313
Federal and Unitary Design in Contemporary Latin America	p. 314
Institutions That Complement Federalism: Bicameralism, Strong Judiciary, Rigid Constitutions	p. 314
The Contemporary Effort to Decentralize	p. 315
Variations in Federal Institutions	p. 318
Dealing with Differences	p. 318
Offsetting Regional Power Differences	p. 320
Country in the Spotlight: Federalism In Brazil	p. 322
Conclusion	p. 326
The Armed Forces: Bridging the Civil-Military Divide	p. 330
The Armed Forces in Contemporary Latin America: Global Comparisons	p. 332
Military Expenditures	p. 332
Military Spending and Development	p. 333
Regional Distinctions	p. 335
The Military Perspective of Latin American History	p. 336
Comparing Countries: Justice and the "Dirty Wars" in Argentina and Brazil	p. 339
Civil-Military Relations	p. 342
Civil-Military Relations Under Democracy	p. 345
Civilian Supremacy or Political Management?	p. 345
New Security Norms Under Democracy	p. 346
Institutional Checks and Balances Under Democracy	p. 348
The Legislature	p. 349
The Courts	p. 350
The Executive	p. 351
Civil-Military Relations and New Challenges	p. 353
Country in the Spotlight: The Armed Forces of El Salvador	p. 354
Conclusion	p. 361
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