Fall/Winter Timetable

POL2405H1S L0101

Undergraduate Course Code: POL442H1S L0101

Topics in Latin American Politics

Crisis and Democracy in the Andes

Themes

A recent outpouring of scholarly work on the Andean countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela) rightfully corrects an overly simplistic view of Latin America, providing a better perspective on the continent’s rich diversity while offering a much-needed understanding of this little known set of cases. This unprecedented boom of comparative literature on the Andes springs from the perception that the region is in deep trouble. Are we really speaking about a region-wide crisis? Or is it just the temporal coincidence of various different national crises instead? The purpose of this seminar is to assess the nature of the region’s crisis as well as to explore a series of competing explanations about the region’s contemporary political dynamics, including its democratic prospects.

Texts

Jo-Marie Burt and Philip Mauceri (eds.), Politics in the Andes. Identity, Conflict and Reform, Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2004; Scott Mainwaring, Ana Maria Bejarano and Eduardo Pizarro (eds.), The Crisis of Democratic Representation in the Andes, Stanford, Stanford University Press, 2006; Paul Drake and Eric Hershberg, State and Society in Conflict. Comparative Perspectives on Andean Crises, Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2006.

Format and Requirements

Seminar Format. One short mid-term paper; written reviews of readings plus class presentations; final research paper.