Undoing Democracy The Politics of Electoral Caudillismo

by Close, David; Deonandan, Kalowatie; Cuadra, Elvira; Dye, David H.; Hoyt, Katherine; Kampwirth, Karen; Livecche, Marc; Puig, Salvador Marti

• ISBN13: 9780739129357
• ISBN10: 073912935X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-06-25
• Publisher: Lexington Books

Summary

In an effort to understand how and why democratically elected governments evade the limitations that democratic accountability and popular participation place on them, Undoing Democracy examines how democratic rule was undermined in Nicaragua in the 1990's. David Close and Kalowatie Deonandan focus their analysis on the pact struck between the country's two main parties, the Liberals and the Sandinistas, which allowed the passage of the constitutional amendments that weakened Nicaragua's basic political institutions. The authors also consider, in detail, the country's political economy as well as the roles played by civil society, the Catholic Church, and NGOs. Undoing Democracy will sharpen our understanding of democratic transition and consolidation, and will serve as an important contribution to the literature on Nicaragua, Latin American politics, and democratization.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments	p. vii
Undoing Democracy in Nicaragua	p. 1
Parties and Pacts in Contemporary Nicaragua	p. 17
The Assault on Pluralism	p. 43
Aleman's War on the NGO Community	p. 65
Unholy Alliance: Church and the State in Nicaragua (1996-2002)	p. 87
Violence and Personal Insecurity: The Aleman Administration's Authoritarian Response	p. 103
Patrimonialism and Economic Policy in the Aleman Administration	p. 119
The External Debt of Nicaragua and the Aleman Liberal Administration: Images and Realities	p. 143
President Bolanos Runs a Reverse, or How Arnoldo Aleman Wound Up in Prison	p. 167
The Caudillo is Dead: Long Live the Caudillo	p. 183
Works Cited	p. 199
Index	p. 211
About the Contributors	p. 217
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