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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
La Gobernabilidad Democrática En América Latina: Cuatro Ejes De Análisis, Fernando Barrientos Del Monte
La Gobernabilidad Democrática En América Latina: Cuatro Ejes De Análisis, Fernando Barrientos Del Monte
Fernando Barrientos Del Monte
No abstract provided.
The Democracy Cluster Classification Index, Mihaiela R. Gugiu, Miguel Centellas
The Democracy Cluster Classification Index, Mihaiela R. Gugiu, Miguel Centellas
Miguel Centellas
Using hierarchical cluster analysis, a new measure of democracy, the DCC index, is proposed and constructed from five popular indices of democracy (Freedom House, Polity IV, Vanhanen's index of democratization, Cheibub et al.'s index of democracy and dictatorship, and the Cingranelli-Richards index of electoral self-determination). The DCC was used to classify the regime types for twenty-four countries in the Americas and thirty-nine countries in Europe over a thirty-year period. The results indicated that democracy is a latent class variable. Sensitivity and specificity analyses were conducted for the five existing democracy indices as well as the newly proposed Unified Democracy Scores …
Replacing And Amending Constitutions: The Logic Of Constitutional Change In Latin America, Gabriel L. Negretto
Replacing And Amending Constitutions: The Logic Of Constitutional Change In Latin America, Gabriel L. Negretto
Gabriel L. Negretto
Since 1978, all countries in Latin America have either replaced or amended their constitutions. What explains the choice between these two substantively different means of constitutional transformation? This article argues that constitutions are replaced when they fail to work as governance structures or when their design prevents competing political interests from accommodating to changing environments. According to this perspective, constitutions are likely to be replaced when constitutional crises are frequent, when political actors lack the capacity to implement changes by means of amendments or judicial interpretation, or when the constitutional regime has a power-concentrating design. It is further argued that …
Modelos De Gestión Electoral En América Latina En Perspectiva Comparada, Fernando Barrientos Del Monte
Modelos De Gestión Electoral En América Latina En Perspectiva Comparada, Fernando Barrientos Del Monte
Fernando Barrientos Del Monte
A través de un método comparativo se dan a conocer los diferentes modelos de gestión electoral desarrollados a partir de los procesos de democratización de las dos últimas décadas del siglo XX en América Latina. Los criterios más relevantes para realizar el estudio son el grado de independencia y la composición de los organismos encargados de la gestión electoral. Sin embargo, aclara, existen otros criterios que señalan diferencias centrales respecto al modelo de gestión adoptado por un país dado, puede ser un modelo unificado, permanente, con funciones de administración y justicia electoral, y además con una cobertura amplia. Hace hincapié …
Shifting Constitutional Designs In Latin America. A Two-Level Explanation, Gabriel L. Negretto
Shifting Constitutional Designs In Latin America. A Two-Level Explanation, Gabriel L. Negretto
Gabriel L. Negretto
Latin American countries have been riding a massive wave of constitutional change since 1978. One aspect of the political institutions selected as a result of this process seems particularly puzzling. Reforms that promote party pluralism and consensual decision making coexist, often within the same design, with other reforms that restrict party competition and foster concentration of power in the executive branch. This Article argues that constitutional choice is endogenous to the performance of preexisting constitutional structures and to the partisan interests and relative power of reformers. According to this theory, the seemingly contradictory trends of design that we observe in …
Where Is Local Government Going In Latin America? A Comparative Perspective, Robert Andrew Nickson
Where Is Local Government Going In Latin America? A Comparative Perspective, Robert Andrew Nickson
Robert Andrew Nickson
In the light of the decentralisation process now under way in Latin America, this paper seeks to address the direction of local government in the region. It proposes two Weberian ideal types of local government systems – ‘managerial’ and ‘governmental’. Ten basic features of local government systems are then used as a template to ‘situate’ Latin American local government within this typology. On the basis of this comparative framework, the paper tentatively concludes that the ‘managerial’ type of local government is gaining ground in the region.
A Diplomatic Theatre Of The Absurd: Canada, The Oas And The Coup In Honduras, Maxwell A. Cameron, Jason Tockman
A Diplomatic Theatre Of The Absurd: Canada, The Oas And The Coup In Honduras, Maxwell A. Cameron, Jason Tockman
Maxwell Cameron
Throughout the crisis caused by the coup in Honduras in 2009, Canada moved in lockstep with the United States. Doing so clashed with Canada's frequently stated commitment to multilateralism and democracy.
Latin America’S Left Turns: Beyond Good And Bad, Maxwell A. Cameron
Latin America’S Left Turns: Beyond Good And Bad, Maxwell A. Cameron
Maxwell Cameron
In rapid succession leftwing parties have been elected to government in some of the most important countries in the Latin American region. I challenge the view that there are two distinct variants of the left—one populist, the other social democratic—and argue that variation on the left reflects the diverse conditions under which these forces emerge and evolve. I outline common features shared by the left in Latin America; suggest how the concept of populism and analysis of social movements can help explain this variation; and show how the left’s commitment to egalitarianism, balancing markets, and, in some cases, appeals to …
El Giro A La Izquierda Frustrado En Peru: El Caso De Ollanta Humala, Maxwell A. Cameron
El Giro A La Izquierda Frustrado En Peru: El Caso De Ollanta Humala, Maxwell A. Cameron
Maxwell Cameron
The unexpected rise of radical nationalist candidate Ollanta Humala in the Peruvian general election of 2006 took many observers by surprise. This article analyzes the origin and nature of the Humala candidacy, evaluates whether his campaign capitalized on weaknesses in the party system, and the degree to which it reflected a repudiation of neoliberal policies, the state of democracy, or the performance of recent elected governments.
Political Parties And Institutional Design: Explaining Constitutional Choice In Latin America, Gabriel L. Negretto
Political Parties And Institutional Design: Explaining Constitutional Choice In Latin America, Gabriel L. Negretto
Gabriel L. Negretto
The formulas for electing presidents and the rules determining the legislative powers of presidents are important variables for explaining the performance of presidential democracies. This article develops a strategic choice model to explain variations in these institutional features. Based on this model, it is proposed here that constitution makers are likely to opt for more-than-plurality rules of presidential elections when the number of parties necessary to pass constitutional changes increases. It is also proposed that the makers of constitutions are likely to strengthen the legislative powers of the president when the number of parties necessary to pass constitutional changes increases …
Canada's Engagement With Democracies In The Americas, Maxwell A. Cameron, Catherine Hecht
Canada's Engagement With Democracies In The Americas, Maxwell A. Cameron, Catherine Hecht
Maxwell Cameron
Canada’s engagement with Latin America over the past two decades was predicated on three inter-related assumptions: that the region was becoming more democratic, that it had embraced markets, and that, as a result, it was reasonable to expect a more cooperative and pragmatic tone in inter-American affairs. These assumptions have proven faulty. Although democracy remains the preferred system of government, many voters are dissatisfied with their elected governments; the record of progress in reducing poverty and inequality has also been disappointing; finally, the international politics of the region have become more fraught. The current Canadian “re-engagement” with the region offers …
Citizenship Deficits In Latin American Democracies, Maxwell A. Cameron
Citizenship Deficits In Latin American Democracies, Maxwell A. Cameron
Maxwell Cameron
There is little evidence of a crisis of electoral democracy in Latin America, yet many of the region’s democratic regimes are unstable. Recently, Latin American democracies have been threatened more by the unconstitutional and illegal actions of democratically elected leaders than by attempted military coups or systematic electoral fraud. The separation of powers is sometimes violated in subtle ways that do not necessarily interrupt electoral democracy. Such threats have been inadequately theorized in the literature. Theorizing the separation of powers could help the international community to monitor the progress or erosion of democracy in the Western Hemisphere. The proposed agenda …
Non-Median And Condorcet-Loser Presidents In Latin America: A Factor Of Instability, Josep M. Colomer
Non-Median And Condorcet-Loser Presidents In Latin America: A Factor Of Instability, Josep M. Colomer
Josep M. Colomer
Both the longer duration of present democratic regimes in Latin America in comparison with past historical periods and their high levels of political instability can be partly explained by the role of electoral rules. In this paper several electoral rules are evaluated for their results on the basis of more than 111 presidential and 137 congressional elections in 18 Latin American countries during the current emocratic periods. First, a focus is cast on the probability that elected presidents have the support of the median voter’s first preference, which is a proxy for the winner’s popular acceptance or rejection. The frequency …
“Choosing How To Choose Presidents: Parties, Military Rulers, And Presidential Elections In Latin America”, Gabriel L. Negretto
“Choosing How To Choose Presidents: Parties, Military Rulers, And Presidential Elections In Latin America”, Gabriel L. Negretto
Gabriel L. Negretto
Students of presidential regimes claim that while the combination of plurality rule for presidential elections and concurrent electoral cycles favors bipartism, majority rule for electing presidents favors multipartism. I argue that a reverse causality also affects the relationship between party systems and electoral systems. Using a bargaining model of institutional change, I propose that while dominant and large parties are likely to choose plurality rule and concurrent elections, small parties are likely to choose majority rule. I also argue that military rulers and mil- itary-civilian coalitions tend to follow the logic of electoral choice of small parties. These hypotheses are …
Genocide In The Non-Western World: Implications For Holocaust Studies, Robert Cribb
Genocide In The Non-Western World: Implications For Holocaust Studies, Robert Cribb
Robert Cribb
The example of the Holocaust has tended to dominate genocide studies, but the broader study of extreme violence makes it difficult to exclude the mass killing of indigenous peoples and mass killing on political grounds from the category of genocide.