Voting Amid Violence

by Taylor, Steven L.

• ISBN13: 9781555536985
• ISBN10: 1555536980
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-04-30
• Publisher: Northeastern Univ Pr

Summary

Despite endemic political violence, Colombia has one of the oldest electoral democracies in the Western Hemisphere. In this long-awaited, indispensable study, author Steven L. Taylor argues that an understanding of Colombia's political development requires understanding the evolution of its political parties and its electoral rules. This book deals both with the specifics of Colombia and with questions concerning how electoral reform and institutional change interact with the behavior of political actors. Taylor's argument holds clear and broader implications for the study of civil democracy in an atmosphere of political violence around the world today, and they have never been more relevant.

Author Biography

STEVEN L. TAYLOR is associate professor of Political Science at Troy University and is an expert on Colombian politics.

Table of Contents

List of Tables, Figures, and Boxes

Preface and Acknowledgments

List of Abbreviations

An Introduction to Colombia

Colombian Democracy

Cartas de Batalla

Rethinking the Traditional Parties

Parties: Reform and Adaptation

Parties, Rules, and Strategic Choices

The Pernicious Nature of Colombian Political Violence

The State of Colombia (Evaluations and Conclusions)

Afterword

Appendixes

The Evolution of the Ballot in Colombia

Notes on Electoral Data

Notes

References

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.