Issues in Democratic Consolidation: The New South American Democracies in Comparative Perspective - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0268012113 ISBN 13: 9780268012113

Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press, 1992

Synopsis

Since 1974 there has been an unprecedented wave of democratization in the world. This trend has been particularly extensive in South America. But the problems confronting these new democracies are staggering, and the prospects for building consolidated democratic regimes are far from uniformly good. Focusing primarily on recent South American cases, Issues in Democratic Consolidation examines some of the difficulties of constructing consolidated democracies and provides a critical examination of the major issues involved.

A prominent theme running through this collection is that the transitions from authoritative rule to civilian government may be arrested by political, economic, and social constraints. The articles contain analyses of the varied modalities and complex processes related to the transitions. The first transition begins with the initial stirrings of crisis under authoritarian rule that generate some form of political opening and greater respect for basic civil rights, and ends with the establishment of a government elected in an open, competitive contest. The volume's primary focus, however, is on the second transition, which begins with the inauguration of a democratic government and ends-if all goes well-with the establishment of a consolidated democratic regime.

About this title

From the Publisher:

"This volume promises to remain one of the seminal guides for research on democratic politics in Latin America." --National Political Science Review

"Seven leading scholars, all associated with Notre Dame's Kellogg Institute for International Studies, have contributed to this path-breaking symposium volume on the second stage of South America's contemporary transitions toward democratic governance." --Foreign Affairs

About the Author:

Scott Mainwaring is a Senior Fellow of the Kellogg Institute and an Associate Professor of Government and International Studies at the University of Notre Dame.

J. Samuel Valenzuela is Professor and Chair of Sociology and a Senior Fellow of the Kellogg Institute.

Guillermo O'Donnell (d. 2011) was Academic Director of the Kellogg Institute and Helen Kellogg Professor of Government and International Studies and Sociology

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0268012113
• ISBN 13: 9780268012113
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 366
• Editor: Mainwaring Scott, Valenzuela J. Samuel, O'Donnell Guillermo