PS 134AA: COMPARATIVE POLITICS OF LATIN AMERICA, or DEMOCRACY AND DEMOCRATIZATION IN LATIN AMERICA S

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PS 134AA COMPARATIVE POLITICS OF LATIN
AMERICA, orDEMOCRACY AND DEMOCRATIZATION
INLATIN AMERICASpring 2005Peter H. Smith
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Instructor Peter H. Smith 364 Social Science
Building phsmith_at_weber.ucsd.edu Office hours
Tuesday 1-3 TA/Graders Emily Matthews, James
Long
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REQUIRED READING

• Peter H. Smith, Democracy in Latin America
  Political Change in Comparative Perspective
  (2005)
• Jorge I. Domínguez and Michael Shifter, eds.,
  Constructing Democratic Governance in Latin
  America, second edition (2003)

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RECOMMENDED READING

• Thomas E. Skidmore and Peter H. Smith, Modern
  Latin America, fifth edition (2001), or
• Equivalent thereof (e.g., LATI 50 or a course on
  the modern history or contemporary politics of
  Latin America), or
• Exposure to recent scholarship on processes of
  democratization (e.g., in Eastern and Southern
  Europe).

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EXAMS AND ASSIGNMENTS

• Mid-term Tuesday, May 3 (33 of grade)
• Final Wednesday, June 8 (67 of grade)
• Optional paper Tuesday, May 31 (30 of course
  grade, reducing mid-term to 20 and final to 50)

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KEY QUESTIONS

• What explains the spread of democracy in Latin
  America?
• What kind of democracy? What quality?
• Whats new about the current phase of democratic
  change? How does it compare to prior periods?
• What role (if any) for the United States?

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COURSE SCHEDULE

• Mar 29 Introduction/Concepts of Democracy
• Apr 05 Cycles and Transitions
• Apr 12 Changing Roles of the Military
• Apr 19 Presidential Systems and Electoral
  Institutions
• Apr 26 Parties and Legislatures

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• May 03 MIDTERM
• May 10 Economic Policies and Governmental
  Performance
• May 17 Whos In, Whos Out/ Whats In, Whats
  Out
• May 24 The Peoples Verdict
• May 31 What Now?

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BOOK OUTLINE

• Introduction
• Dimensions of Democracy
• Part I Historical Perspectives, 1900-2000
• Cycles of Electoral Democracy
• Transitions and Continuities
• The Military Heading for the Exits?
• Global Contexts, International Forces

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• Part II The Electoral Arena
• Exploring Institutional Alternatives
• Varieties of Presidentialism
• Elections Voters, Winners, Losers

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• Part III Qualities of Democracy
• State Capacity and Policy Performance
• The Politics of Social Equity
• Freedoms, Rights, and Illiberal Democracy
• The Peoples Verdict
• Part IV Democracy Considered
• 12. The Taming of Democracy
• Epilogue The Future of Democracy

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PRINCIPLES OF DEMOCRACY
Participation, such that no substantial segment
of the population is excluded from the effective
pursuit of political power Competition, such
that there are free, fair, and regular contests
for gaining support from the populace Accountabil
ity, such that political rulers and elected
representatives serve as agents of their
constituents and must justify their actions and
decisions in order to remain in office.
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INSTITUTIONAL GUARANTEES

• Freedom to form and join organizations
• Freedom of expression
• The right to vote
• Eligibility for public office
• The right of political leaders to compete for
  support and votes
• Alternative sources of information
• Free and fair elections
• Institutions for making government policies
  depend on elections and other expressions of
  popular preference.

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TWO KEY DIMENSIONS

• Elections
• Items 3-5, 7-8
• Rights
• Items 1-2, 6
• Question What if they dont go together? What
  about the prospect of illiberal democracy?

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CATEGORIES OF ELECTORAL REGIMES
Electoral democracy free and fair
elections Semidemocracy elections free but not
fair or, effective power not vested in winner
of elections Competitive oligarchy elections
fair but not free candidates restricted to
socio-economic elite and suffrage restricted to
minority of population Autocracy/authoritarianis
m no elections, or elections neither free not
fair.
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