The Peruvian Labyrinth; Polity, Society, Economy

A country perceived as having unusually complex political, economic, and social problems, Peru has long fascinated social scientists. The Peruvian Labyrinth brings together a new generation of scholars to explore the multifaceted Peruvian "experiment" as it has evolved further, in often dramatic ways, in the 1980s and 1990s.

The volume focuses special attention on the administration of Albert Fujimori, who suspended the constitution in 1992, two years after he first became president, but then was reelected in 1995. The experience of Peru under his regime raises important questions about the nature of democracy in Latin America, the challenges of economic and political reform, and the prospects for combining stable democratic governance and sustained development.

Topics covered in the volume include the legacies of democratic transitions, human rights and political violence, the decline of the Shining Path, the Fujimori "autogolpe," the changing roles of business and organized labor, the political impact of the informal sector, changes in the agrarian sector, and the shift in economic strategies from developmentalism and toward neoliberalism.

Maxwell A. Cameron is Associate Professor in the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.

Philip Mauceri is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Northern Iowa.