CPLA_syllabus_v_april22 Comparative Politics of 20th Century Latin America

7/28/2019 CPLA_syllabus_v_april22 Comparative Politics of 20th Century Latin America

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Comparative Politics of 20th Century Latin AmericaPLSC 20710

Erica Simmons ([email protected])and

Juan Fernando Ibarra Del Cueto ([email protected])

Description of the course:

Over the past 100 years, Latin American countries have experienced major swings intheir dynamics of governance, social relations, and economic structures. As an incrediblydiverse region, Latin America has witnessed the emergence of successful revolutions,ruthless dictatorships, the rise and fall of mass labor movements, the surge of identitypolitics, and the application of a wide variety of economic development strategies. Thiscourse will seek to explore and explain these, as well as other, major political and

economic trends in twentieth century Latin America. While students are encouraged totake seriously the heterogeneous nature of the region, one of the main goals of the courseis to challenge them to think analytically about social and political patterns that emergewhen comparing the social and political trajectories of these countries.

After a brief introduction to the method and the region, the course moves on to explorethe nineteenth century roots of twentieth century politics. Students will then read aboutthe dynamics of populism and import substitution industrialization in the 1930s and1940s, revolutions in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and the rise of authoritarianism. The finalweeks will cover transitions to democracy, economic reforms, social movements, andchallenges to contemporary governance. Students should leave the course with anexcellent grasp of major concepts and themes in Latin American politics as well as anunderstanding of how to employ comparative methods to better understand politicalphenomena.

Course requirements/grading:

1) Readings. We have tried to ensure that you have no more than 125 pages ofreading per class session and 250 pages per week. You will be required toparticipate in weekly discussions. We expect intelligent contributions thatdemonstrate a mastery of the reading assignments. Participation will counttowards 20% of your grade.

2) Map Quiz. There will be a map quiz on the second day of class. It will bepass/fail. You must pass the quiz to pass the course. If you have two or morewrong answers on the quiz you cannot pass. If you do not pass the quiz on thefirst try, you will have other opportunities during the quarter to do so. If you dopass on the first try, you will get 5% extra credit towards your final grade.


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3) Papers. Y ou will write five 3-4 page papers answering one of the weeksdiscussion questions. These questions will be posted on chalk every week onThursday and papers will be due on the following Wednesday by 6 pm via emailto both instructors. Y ou should also bring two printed copies of your paper toclass on Thursday. The papers will count towards 50% of your grade.

4) Exam. There will be a final exam on the material covered during the quarter. Theformat of the exam is TBD. The exam will count towards 30% of your grade.

Readings:

The following books will be available for purchase at the Seminary Co-op bookstore:

Domnguez, J orge and Michael Shifter eds., 2008. Constructing Democratic

Governance in Latin America3

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edition(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UniversityPress).

ODonnell, Guillermo and Philippe Schmitter, 1986.Transitions from AuthoritarianRule: Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain Democracies (Baltimore: JohnsHopkins).

Skidmore, Thomas E. and Peter H. Smith, 2005. Modern Latin America (Oxford:Oxford University Press).

Valenzuela, Arturo, 1978.The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Chile(Baltimore:Johns Hopkins University Press).

Conniff, Michael, 1999. Populism in Latin America (Birmingham: University ofAlabama Press).

Additional readings will be available online through Chalk or e-reserves.


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Course overview:

Week 1: Introduction to the Method and the Region

Session 1: Introduction to the method

Further readings: Selected interviews from Gerardo L. Munck and Richard Snyder,eds. 2007. Passion, Craft, and Method in Comparative Politics. (Baltimore: JohnsHopkins University Press):

- David Collier- Philippe Schmitter- Adam Przeworski- Munck, The Past and Present of Comparative Politics

Session 2: Introduction to the region **MAP QUIZ**

Wynia, Gary, 1990.The Politics of Latin American Development, 3rd ed. (New York:Cambridge University Press): 24-101 (Note: available through e-reserves and in-classhandout)

Skidmore, Thomas E. and Peter H. Smith, 2005. Modern Latin America. (Oxford:Oxford University Press): Prologue, Chapter 1 and 2.

Week 2: State building and neocolonialism in the late nineteenth century

Session 1: The formation of nations and states

Centeno, Miguel. 1997, Blood and Debt: War and Taxation in Nineteenth-CenturyLatin America. American Journal of Sociology102(6): 1565605.

Anderson, Benedict. 1991. Imagined communities : reflections on the origin andspread of nationalism. (New York: Verso): Chapter 4.

Tilly, Charles, 1985. War Making and State Making as Organized Crime in PeterEvans, Dietrich Reuschmeyer and Theda Skocpol (eds) Bringing the State Back In.(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press): pp. 169-191.

Session 2: Enclave development and dependency

Halperin Donghi, Tulio, 1993.The Contemporary History of Latin America.(Durham: Duke University Press): Chapter 5.


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Cardoso, Fernando Henrique and Enzo Falleto, 1979. Dependency and Developmentin Latin America (Berkeley: University of California Press): Chapter 3.

Cardenas, Enrique, Jos Antonio Ocampo, and Rosemary Thorpe, 2000. Aneconomic history of twentieth-century Latin America, first volume (New York:

Palgrave): Chapter 1.

Week 3: Populism and the Rise of Import Substitution Industrialization

Session 1: Populism and the Mexican, Brazilian and Argentine Cases

Conniff, Michael, ed. 1999, Populism in Latin America (Tuscaloosa: University ofAlabama Press): Chapters 1, 2, and 3.

Knight, Allan. 1991. The Rise and Fall of Cardenismo in Leslie Bethell, ed.,

Mexico Since Independence(New York: Cambridge University Press): pp. 241-320

Session 2: Import Substitution Industrialization

Skidmore, Thomas E. and Peter H. Smith, 2005. Modern Latin America (Oxford:Oxford University Press): pp. 43-57

Green, Duncan, 2005. State versus Market: The Rise and Fall of ImportSubstitution in Peter Kingstone, Readings in Latin American Politics, Ch. 3.1, pp.68-83.

Cardenas, Enrique, Jos Antonio Ocampo, and Rosemary Thorpe, 2000. Aneconomic history of twentieth-century Latin America, third volume (New York:Palgrave): Chapter 1.

Hirschman, Albert O., 1968, The Political Economy of Import-SubstitutingIndustrialization in Latin America,The Quarterly J ournal of Economics, 82:1: 1-32.

Week 4: A Different Path: Revolutions

Session 1: The Cuban Revolution

Castaeda, Jorge, 1993.Utopia Unarmed (New York: Vintage): pp. 51-89

Eckstein, Susan Eva, 1994.Back From the Future: Cuba Under Castro (Princeton:Princeton University Press): pp. 3-59

Welch, Jr., Richard E., 1985. Response to Revolution: The United States and the


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Cuban Revolution (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press): pp. 3-26

Luxenberg, Alan, 1988. Did Eisenhower Push Castro into the Arms of the Soviets?J ournal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs, 30:1: pp. 37-64

Session 2:

Valenzuela, Arturo, 1978.The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Chile(Baltimore:Johns Hopkins): pp. 3-80

Wickham Crowley, Timothy, 2001. Winners, Losers, and Also-Rans: Towards aComparative Sociology of Latin American Guerrilla Movements, in Susan Ecksteined., Power and Popular Protest: Latin American Social Movements (Berkeley:University of California Press): pp. 132-180.

Goodwin, Jeff, 2001. No Other Way Out (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press):

pp. 142-178.

Week 5: Political Regimes I: Authoritarian convergence

Session 1: Elites, social coalitions, and political regimes in the region, an overview

Lipset, Seymour M., 1959. Some Social Requisites of Democracy: EconomicDevelopment and Political Legitimacy, American Political Science Review53:1: pp.69-105.

Rueschemeyer, D., Stephens, E.H., and Stephens, J.D., 1992.Capitalist Developmentand Democracy,(Chicago: University of Chicago Press): pp. 155-225.

Session 2: Different routes to (and forms of) authoritarian rule in Latin America

Huntington, Samuel P., 1968. Political Order in Changing Societies, (New Haven:Yale University Press): pp. 1-11, 32-59, 78-92.

Mahoney, James, 2001. Path-Dependent Explanations of Regime Change: CentralAmerica in Comparative Perspective, Studies in Comparative PoliticalDevelopment, 36:1: pp. 111-141.

Middlebrook, Kevin, 1995.The Paradox of Revolution: Labor, The State, andAuthoritarianism in Mexico. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins): pp. 1-38.

Collier, David, 1979. Overview of the Bureaucratic Authoritarian Model in DavidCollier, ed.,The New Authoritarianism in Latin America, (Princeton: PrincetonUniversity Press): pp. 19-32


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Week 6: Political Regimes II: Transitions from authoritarian rule and the consolidation ofdemocracy

Session 1: Overview

ODonnell, Guillermo and Philippe Schmitter,Transitions from Authoritarian Rule:Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain Democracies, (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins):pp. 15-72

Mainwaring, Scott and Anbal Prez Lin, 2005. Latin American Democratizationsince 1978: Democratic Transitions, Breakdowns, and Erosions, in Hagopian andMainwaring, eds.,The Third Wave of Democratization in Latin America: Advancesand Setbacks (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press): pp. 14-59.

Remmer, Karen, 1992. The Process of Democratization in Latin America, Studies

in Comparative International Development, 27:4: pp. 1-24.

Session 2: Cases and Legacies

Lawson, Chappell, 2000. Mexicos Unfinished Transition: Democratization andAuthoritarian Enclaves, Mexican Studies, 16:2: pp. 267-287.

Hunter, Wendy, 1997. Continuity or Change? Civil-Military Relations inDemocratic Argentina, Chile, and Peru, Political Science Quarterly,112: 3: pp. 353-375

Karl, Terry Lynn, 1995. The Hybrid Regimes of Central America,J ournal ofDemocracy, 6:3: pp. 72-86

Week 7: The Debt Crisis, Economic Reforms, and The Washington Consensus

Session 1:

Williamson, John, 1990. What Washington Means by Policy Reform. InWilliamson, ed. Latin American Adjustment: How Much Has Happened? (Institute ofInternational Economics). Online:www.iie.com/publications/papers/paper.cfm?researchID-486

Weyland, Kurt, 1998. Swallowing the Bitter Pill: Sources of Popular Support forNeoliberal Reform in Latin America. Comparative Political Studies31: 5: pp. 539-568

Edwards, Sebastian, 1995. Crisis and Reform in Latin America: From Despair toHope(Oxford University Press): pp. 41-58.


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Silva, Eduardo, 2009. Challenging Neoliberalism in Latin America. (Cambridge:Cambridge University Press): pp. 103-146.

Session 2:

Movie: La historia oficial, dir. Luis Puenzo (Argentina, 1985)

Week 8: Political institutions

Session 1: Presidentialism and informal institutions

ODonnell, Guillermo, 1994. Delegative Democracy?J ournal of Democracy, 5:1.pp. 55-69.

Mainwaring, Scott, 1993. Presidentialism, Multipartism, and Democracy: the

Difficult Combination, Comparative Political Studies, 26:2: pp. 198-228.

Helmke, Gretchen and Steven Levitsky, 2004. Informal institutions and democracy:lessons from Latin America, (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins): pp. 1-30.

Session 2: Parties

Mainwaring, Scott and Timothy Scully, 1995. Introduction: Party Systems in LatinAmerica, in Mainwaring and Scully eds.,Building Democratic Institutions: PartySystems in Latin America (Palo Alto: Stanford University Press): pp. 1-34.

Weyland, Kurt, 1996. Neopopulism and Neoliberalism in Latin America:Unexpected Affinities,Studies in Comparative International Development, 31:3: pp.135-157.

Burgess, Katrina, and Steven Levitsky, 2003. Environmental and OrganizationalDeterminants of Party Change in Argentina, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela,Comparative Political Studies36:8: pp. 881-911.

Week 9: Social Movements and Other Actors

Session 1:

Navarro, Marysa, 2001. The Personal is Political: Las Madres de Plaza del Mayo,in Susan Eckstein, ed., Power and Popular Protest (Berkeley: University ofCalifornia Press): pp. 241-258.


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Yashar, Deborah, 2005.Contesting Citizenship in Latin America. (Cambridge:Cambridge University Press), pp. 54-82 and 240-250.

Harvey, Neil, 1995. Rebellion in Chiapas,Third World Quarterly, 16:1: pp. 39-74.

McClintock, Cynthia, 1984. Why Peasants Rebel: The Case of Perus SenderoLuminoso,World Politics37:1: pp. 48-84.

Session 2:

Murillo, Mara Victoria, 2003. Latin American Labor, in Domnguez and Shifter,eds.,Constructing Democratic Governance in Latin America (Baltimore: JohnsHopkins): pp. 100-117. (NOTE: THIS IS IN E-RESERVE AS IT IS THE 2ndEDITION).

Htun, Mala, 2008. Political Inclusion and Social Inequality in Domnguez andShifter, eds., Constructing Democratic Governance in Latin America (Baltimore:Johns Hopkins).

Sikkink, Kathryn, 1996. Nongovernmental Organizations, Democracy, and HumanRights in Latin America in Tom Farer ed.,Beyond Sovereignty: CollectivelyDefending Democracy in the Americas (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins): pp. 150-168.

Week 10: The Rise of the Left and Contemporary Challenges

Session 1: Overview

Domnguez, J orge, 2008. Three Decades of Democratic Transitions in Domnguezand Shifter, eds., Constructing Democratic Governance in Latin America (Baltimore:Johns Hopkins): pp. 323-352.

Cleary, Matthew, 2006. Explaining the Lefts ResurgenceJ ournal of Democracy,17:4: pp. 35-49.

Corrales, Javier, 2008. The Backlash Against Market Reforms in Latin America inthe 2000s, in Domnguez and Shifter, eds.,Constructing Democratic Governance inLatin America (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins), pp. 39-71.

Session 2: Cases

Dresser, Denise, 2008. Mexico: Dysfunctional Democracy in Domnguez andShifter, eds., Constructing Democratic Governance in Latin America (Baltimore:Johns Hopkins)


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McKinley, James C., Jr. Mexicos War Against Drugs Kills Its Police.The NewYork TimesMay 26, 2008.

Boas, Taylor, 2008. Venezuelas Prospects for Democracy,Berkeley Review of

Latin American Studies (Spring): pp. 54-57

Levitsky, Steven, 2008. Argentina: Democracy and Institutional Weakness inDomnguez and Shifter, eds., Constructing Democratic Governance in Latin America(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins).

Finnegan, William. An Old Fashioned Coup. The New Yorker, November 30,2009.

The Economist. Piera Promises a Gallop. January 23, 2010.

CPLA_syllabus_v_april22 Comparative Politics of 20th Century Latin America

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