784 Pages 20 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    784 Pages 20 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Politics Latin America examines the role of Latin America in the world and its importance to the study of politics with particular emphasis on the institutions and processes that exist to guarantee democracy and the forces that threaten to compromise it.

    Now in its third edition and fully revised to reflect recent developments in the region, Politics Latin America provides students and teachers with an accessible overview of the region’s unique political and economic landscape, covering every aspect of governance in its 21 countries. The book examines the international relations of Latin American states as they seek to carve out a role in an increasingly globalised world and will be an ideal introduction for undergraduate courses in Latin American politics, comparative politics, and other disciplines. This new edition will include: 

    • updated references to scholarship and debates;
    • new themes such as environmental rights, women presidents, the Latin American Pope, Afro-Latinos, and the politics of sexual diversity; 
    • examination of demographic change and social movements;
    • a new chapter on environmental economics and sustainable development.

    This book is essential reading for undergraduates taking courses in Latin American Politics.

    Contents

    Introduction

    PART I   AN INTRODUCTION TO LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY

    Chapter 1. From Independence to the 1930s

    Chapter 2. From the Great Depression to Democratization

    PART II    INSTITUTIONS, PROCESSES, AND ACTORS

    Chapter 3. Democratization and the Quality of Democracy

    Chapter 4. The Challenges Facing Democracy

    Chapter 5. The Presidency

    Chapter 6. Legislatures, Parties, the Judiciary, and Public Administration

    Chapter 7. Established Political Actors

    Chapter 8. Civil Society and Emergent Political Actors

    PART III   INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

    Chapter 9. Inter-State Relations within Latin America

    Chapter 10. The US and Latin America

    Chapter 11. Latin America, Europe, and Asia

    PART IV   POLITICAL IDEAS

    Chapter 12. Left and Right

    Chapter 13. Identities: Nationalism, Race, Ethnicity, Ecologism, and Sexuality

    PART V   ECONOMIC IDEAS

    Chapter 14. Structuralism, Dependency, and Redistributive Models

    Chapter 15. Neoliberalism

    Chapter 16. Environmental Economics and Sustainable Development

    APPENDICES

    Appendix A. Country Timelines and Factboxes

    Appendix B. Glossary

    Biography

    Gavin O’Toole has taught Latin American politics and democratic theory at Queen Mary University of London, and was a Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow at London’s Institute for the Study of the Americas. He is the author of The Reinvention of Mexico (2010), Environmental Politics in Latin America and the Caribbean (2014), and the co-editor of Che in Verse (2007).

    "This is a comprehensive survey of politics in Latin America that never loses the wider picture even as it introduces the reader to the rich diversity of the region. Updated to cover important developments such as the death of Castro and election of Trump, the book provides a magisterially lucid analysis from a range of perspectives, but with particular emphasis on institutions in the post-Cold War era. I cannot think of another book in any language that provides such a spectrum of information and discussion for those coming to Latin America for the first time." - James Dunkerley, Professor of Politics, Queen Mary University of London

     

    "Gavin O’Toole’s new edition of Latin America Politics provides a comprehensive and up- to -date introduction to the region. It includes new themes, and maps out the debates current in Latin American social science. An indispensable resource for students of Latin America." - Maxine Molyneux, Professor of Sociology, Institute of the Americas, University College London