POLITICS AND INSTITUTIONS
IN LATIN AMERICA
IRGN 479
Spring, 2000
Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies
University of California, San Diego
Mondays and Wednesdays, 2:30–3:50 p.m.
Professor Matthew Shugart Office: RBC 1311
Phone: (53)45016 E-mail: mshugart@ucsd.edu
Office hours: M 10:30–12:30; W 9:00–11:30
Note: This course is open only to students enrolled in the Masters of Pacific International Affairs or Masters of Latin American Studies programs, except by permission of instructor. There is a Ph.D. course with the same title, but a different number. Please be sure that you are enrolled through the correct course number. Ph.D. students and the instructor will jointly draw up a supplemental reading list, schedule of meetings outside the meetings for this course, and assignments.
This course involves readings selected to give students an overview of Latin American politics and the institutional environment in which policymaking takes place. Given a ten-week schedule, it is impossible to cover every country. Therefore, the course is organized around key topics such as the role of the military in a democratic regime, presidentialism, clientelism and the nexus of economic and political reform. The explicit goal of each session is to consider Latin American countries comparatively (both with respect to one another and with respect to the United States and countries in other regions of the world) and to try to solve riddles about why countries vary in the ways in which their political processes are structured.
While there are no formal prerequisites for this course, it is assumed that students have either IRCO 400 (Policy-making Processes) or are familiar with the basic paradigm of that course. Those students who have not taken IRCO 400 or who are in need of a refresher are strongly advised to read the following:
D. Roderick Kiewiet and Mathew D. McCubbins, The Logic of Delegation: Congressional Parties and the Appropriations Process (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), chapter 2.
Terry Moe, "The New Economics of Organization," American Journal of Political Science 28: 739-777.
Palmer, Matthew. 1995. “Toward an Economics of Comparative Political Organization: Examining Ministerial Responsibility” Journal of Law, Economics and Organization. 11,1:164-188.
Assignments % of final grade
One short paper (about 1000 words) 20
Due at start of class April 17
Two examinations (May 10 and TBA) 2 x 30... 60
Group presentations (see below) 10
Report accompanying presentation (see below) 10
Students will also be assessed informally on their discussion participation, possibly resulting in modification, upward or downward, of the grade that is based on written work. The purpose of discussion during class sessions is two-fold: (1) to assess the degree to which students are reading and thinking about the assigned material, and (2) to allow students an opportunity to think critically about concepts and events that are important to a fuller understanding of Latin American politics.
Group Presentations. Students will work in groups of 3–4 to develop a presentation on a given day’s topic. A sign-up sheet will be available the first week of class. Each presentation must relate to the topic of the day on which it will be presented, and should bring the topic up to date based on research into news and business-information sources, preferably including some Spanish-language sources. Each member of the group must submit a brief written report (500 words maximum), due at 12:30 p.m. on the day of the presentation, based on his or her contribution to the presentation. Each student’s written report will be assessed individually. An oral presentation must be presented at the start of the class, with each group member presenting some portion of the total project. Total time for each presentation will not normally exceed fifteen minutes. All members of the group will receive the same grade on the oral part of the presentation, unless there are compelling reasons not to do so. Most grades on the oral presentation can be expected to be A- or B+, but exceptionally well or poorly done presentations will be graded accordingly. Grades on the oral presentation will be based on originality, relevance to both the class topic and current events, and success in eliciting participation from other students.
There is a set of readings to be purchased from University Reader Printing Service.
The following book has been ordered the UCSD Bookstore:
Scott Mainwaring and Matthew S. Shugart, eds., Presidentialism and Democracy in Latin America, Cambridge University Press, 1997. (Any royalties accruing to me from sales for this class will be donated to a disaster relief fund for flood victims in Mozambique. Please notify me if you purchase a new book, so that I can add the appropriate amount--about $1.20 per book--to the fund.)
Note on reading and discussion: An effort has been made to make the quantity of reading manageable, even though on some days it is more extensive. On those days with particularly heavy reading, students are advised not to overlook one article or chapter for the sake of another. Instead, students should read more selectively, such that they can get a basic idea of what each author's main arguments are, even if this requires some skimming of parts of the material. Students are responsible for knowing the essential points raised in all required readings, but not every detail, and students should at least “sniff” at any readings listed as “recommended” for a given session.
Schedule of topics, readings, and writing assignments
I. DEMOCRACY IN LATIN AMERICA AND ITS LIMITING FACTORS
1. April 3. Generalizations about Latin American Politics and Policy: Old and New
Charles Anderson, Politics and Economic Change in Latin America: The Governing of Restless Nations (Princeton: D. Van Nostrand Company, 1967), chapter 4: "The Latin American Political System."
Douglas A. Chalmers, "The Politicized State in Latin America," in James M. Malloy, ed., Authoritarianism and Corporatism in Latin America (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1977).
2. April 5. Clientelism
Jonathan Fox, "The Difficult Transition from Clientelism to Citizenship: Lessons from Mexico," World Politics 46 (January 1994).
Frances Hagopian, “Traditional Power Structures and Democratic Governance in Latin America,” pp. 64–86 in Jorge I. Dominguez and Abraham F. Lowenthal, Constructing Democratic Governance: Latin America and the Caribbean in the 1990s—Themes and Issues. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.
Recommended:
Michael Coppedge, “Parties and Society in Mexico and Venezuela: Why Competition Matters,” Comparative Politics (April 1993).
3. April 10. Military Influence in New Democracies
Wendy Hunter, Continuity or Change? Civil–Military Relations in Democratic Argentina, Chile, and Peru,” Political Science Quarterly 112, 3 (1997): 453–75.
Rhoda Rabkin, "The Aylwin Government and 'Tutelary' Democracy: A Concept in Search of a Case?," Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs 35, 1 (Winter 1993).
4. April 12. Presidentialism in Latin America: The Debate
Matthew S. Shugart and Scott Mainwaring, "Presidentialism and Democracy in Latin America: Rethinking the Terms of the Debate," chapter 1 of Mainwaring and Shugart, eds.
Mainwaring and Shugart, "Conclusion: Presidentialism and the Party System," chapter 11 of Mainwaring and Shugart, eds.
5. April 17. Parties, Presidents and Economic Reform
Continue discussion of Mainwaring and Shugart, and also discuss:
Deborah L. Norden, “Party Relations and Democracy in Latin America,” Party Politics, 4, 1: 42343.
Javier Corrales, “Presidents, Ruling Parties, and Party Rules: A Theory of Economic Reform in Latin America,” Comparative Politics (January 2000): 127–49.
II. CASE STUDIES OF POLITICS, INSTITUTIONS, AND ECONOMIC REFORM
6. April 19. Fragmented Politics and Reform in Brazil
Mainwaring, chapter 2 of Mainwaring and Shugart, eds.
Peter R. Kingstone, “Constitutional Reform and Macroeconomic Stability: Implications for Democratic Consolidation in Brazil,” in Philip Oxhorn and Pamela K. Starr, eds., Markets and Democracy in Latin America: Conflict or Convergence? (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1999).
Alfred P. Montero, “A Delicate Game: The Politics of Reform in Brazil,” Current History (March, 1999).
7. April 24. (Formerly) Strong Parties and the Rise of Chávez in Venezuela
Brian F. Crisp, chapter 5 in Mainwaring and Shugart, eds.
Brian F. Crisp, “Lessons from Economic Reform in the Venezuelan Democracy,” Latin American Research Review 33, 1: 7–41.
Margarita López-Maya and Luis E. Lander, “A Military Populist Takes Venezuela,” NACLA Report on the Americas 32, 5 (March/April, 1999): 11–15.
Jennifer L. McCoy, “Demistifying Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez,” Current History (February, 2000).
8. April 26. Mexico and the Decline of PRI-Eminence
Jeffrey Weldon, chapter 6 of Mainwaring and Shugart, eds.
Jorge I. Dominguez, “The Transformation of Mexico’s Electoral and Party Systems, 1988–97: An Introduction,” in Jorge I. Dominguez and Alejandro Poiré, eds., Toward Mexico’s Democratization (New York: Routledge, 1999).
9. May 1. Democracy in Argentina, 1983–1995
Mark P. Jones, chapter 7 in Mainwaring and Shugart, eds.
Jones, "Argentina: Questioning Menem's Way," Current History (February, 1998).
10. May 3. Executive–Legislative Relations in Post-Pinochet Chile
PeterM. Siavelis, chapter 9 of Mainwaring and Shugart, eds.
Felipe Agüero, "Chile's Lingering Authoritarian Legacy," Current History (February, 1998).
Arturo Valenzuela, “Judging the General: Pinochet’s Past and Chile’s Future,” Current History (March, 1999).
11. May 8. Wrangling over Policy: Use of Vetoes in Argentina, Chile, and Venezuela
Guest Lecture by Eric Magar, Candidate for Ph.D. in Political Science, UCSD.
Readings will be supplied separately; they were not available for your reader.
12. May 10. Exam.
Format and other details to be announced.
13. May 15. Economic and Political Reform in Colombia
Archer and Shugart, chapter 3 in Mainwaring and Shugart, eds.
14. May 17. The Strange Mix of Populism and Neo-Liberalism: Argentina, Mexico, and Peru
Edward Gibson, "The Populist Road to Market Reform: Policy and Electoral Coalitions in Mexico and Argentina," World Politics 49 (April 1997): 339–70.
Kenneth M. Roberts and Moisés Arce, “Neoliberalism and Lower-Class Voting Behavior in Peru,” Comparative Political Studies 31, 2: 217–46.
15. May 22. The Perils of Democracy in the Andes
David Scott Palmer, “Democracy and its Discontents in Fujimori’s Peru,” Current History (February, 2000).
Liisa North, “Austerity and Disorder in the Andes,” NACLA Report on the Americas33, 1 (July/August, 1999): 6–9.
Also, skim the chapter on Bolivia by Gamarra in Mainwaring and Shugart, eds.
Some additional readings on Ecuador and/or other Andean countries will be supplied; they were not available for your reader.
Recommended:
Catherine M. Conaghan, “A Deficit of Democratic Authenticity: Political Linkage and the Public in Andean Polities,” Studies in Comparative International Development 31, 3: 32–55.
16. May 24. The Independence of Judges and Prosecutors: Experiences from Chile and Guatemala (and Elsewhere)
Jorge Correa Sutil, “The Judiciary and the Political System in Chile: The Dilemmas of Judicial Independence During the Transition to Democracy.”
Andrés José D’Alessio, “The Function of the Prosecution in the Transition to Democracy in Latin America.”
Philip B. Heymann, “Should Prosecutors Be Independent of the Executive in Prosecuting Government Abuses?”
…each of the above is a chapter in Irwin P. Stotzky, ed., Transition to Democracy in Latin America: The Role of the Judiciary (Westview Press, 1993).
May 29. Memorial Day Holiday.
No class!
V. REVOLUTIONARY AND POST-REVOLUTIONARY POLITICS: CUBA, EL SALVADOR, AND NICARAGUA
17. May 31. Cuba: Transition to What?
Marifeli Pérez-Stable, The Cuban Revolution. Read or skim as much of this as your time and interest allow, but focus especially on Chapters 6, 7, and the Conclusion.
Jorge I. Dominguez, Democratic Politics in Latin American and the Caribbean (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999), Chapter 6 (“ Cuba in the 1990s: The Transition to Somewhere”).
18. June 5.Democracy in El Salvador and Nicaragua
For background, skim Chapters 6 and 7 of: John A. Booth and Thomas W. Walker, Understanding Central America, Third Edition (Boulder: Westview Press, 1999).
Rose J. Spalding, Nicaragua: Politics, Poverty, and Polarization”; and…
Ricardo Córdova Macías, “El Salvador: Transition from Civil War,” in Jorge I. Dominguez and Abraham F. Lowenthal, eds., Constructing Democratic Governance: Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean in the 1990s (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996).
Lisa Zimmerman, “Few Surprises at the Sandinista Congress,” NACLA Report on the Americas 32, 1 (July/August, 1998): 16–19.
VI. CONCLUSION
19. June 7. The Resilience of Democracy
Scott Mainwaring, “The Surprising Resilience of Elected Governments,” Journal of Democracy 10, 3 (July, 1999): 101–14.