Political Science 221, Latin American Politics



Political Science 221, Latin American Politics Winter Term 2004

SYLLABUS

Professor: Alfred P. Montero Office: Willis 407

Phone: x4085 (Office) 645-9603 (Home) Email: Amontero@carleton.edu

Web Page:

Office Hours: Tues. & Thurs. 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. or by appointment.

"[Latin] America is ungovernable!"

- Simón Bolívar, on his deathbed in 1830.

Course Description

More than 150 years after the great liberator of Latin America, Simón Bolívar, uttered these immortal words, many scholars of the region opine that the caudillo's sentiments have proven prophetic. The 20th century history of Latin America has been plagued by some of the worst afflictions of the human condition: persistent poverty, authoritarianism, social violence, and economic chaos. The search for governability in this region is a struggle that has led many Latin American countries to an array of different economic and political "experiments." These experiments have evolved as pendulum swings between competing modes of governance. Latin American countries have tried democracy and authoritarianism; state interventionist development models and market-oriented programs; economic policies fostering income distribution and others deepening inequality; reformist and revolutionary change.

The purpose of this course is to train students to think critically about the Latin American reality. In general, the course serves as an introduction for those who are unfamiliar with the history, politics, and social structure of the region. Instruction in this class, however, will go beyond a mere introduction to Latin American political history. It will challenge students to analyze complex problems in Latin American politics and development and encourage them to provide informed arguments on these matters. In addition to reading and listening to lectures, this class will invite students to write and orally communicate their observations about the substantive questions in the course.

This course begins with an introduction to Latin American political history and some of the main theoretical approaches to understanding the region. After considering the colonial foundations and the modern development experience of the Latin American countries, students will examine particular country cases: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, the Central American countries, Chile, Cuba, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, and the Caribbean nations. The study of these countries will be embedded in a broader discussion of thematic questions: transitions from authoritarianism to democracy, the causes of inequality, the prevalence of political violence, U.S. foreign policy in the region, and the failures of revolutionary change. In the final section of the course, students will analyze and discuss recent research on some of these persisting problems in Latin American politics and development with a focus on Brazil.

What is Expected of Students

Students will be expected to read, think, criticize, and form arguments. That will require keeping up on reading assignments and attending class regularly. Students must be fully prepared at all times to discuss the readings and concepts from previous lectures. The best students will be critical but balanced in their assessments, and will develop coherent arguments that they can defend in their writing and their in-class discussion.

Reading Materials

The four required and one recommended book for this course have been ordered and are presently on sale at the college bookstore. All are paperbacks. The texts are:

Ernesto Che Guevara. 1995. The Motorcycle Diaries: A Journey Around South America. New York, NY: Verso. “Das Kapital meets Easy Rider.”

Larry Diamond, Jonathan Hartlyn, Juan J. Linz, and Seymour Martin Lipset, eds. 1999. Democracy in Developing Countries: Latin America. 2nd Edition. Boulder: Lynne Rienner.

Peter R. Kingstone and Timothy J. Power, eds. 2000. Democratic Brazil: Actors, Institutions, and Processes. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.

Douglas Chalmers, Carlos Vilas, Katherine Hite, Scott Martin, Kerianne Piester, and Monique Segarra, eds. 1997. The New Politics of Inequality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation and Representation. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Thomas E. Skidmore and Peter H. Smith, eds. 2005. Modern Latin America. 6th Edition. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. (Recommended).

In addition to these texts, this course requires your study of a number of other readings from diverse sources. In order to facilitate your access to these materials, I have placed these materials on either e-reserves or on physical closed reserve at the library. Also, in order to reduce your costs, I have placed the required books on closed reserve. Students are advised to download or make readable copies of these materials early during the course.

In addition to the readings, this course recommends your use of select video materials. These items include the Annenberg/CPB “Americas” Collection on closed reserve and an assortment of feature-length films and documentaries, most of which will be presented during designated showing times. Brief portions of these and other multimedia items will be presented during class as a part of the lectures.

I will occasionally distribute electronic handouts and clippings from The New York Times, the Economist, the Miami Herald, the Minneapolis/St. Paul newspapers, and the internet prior to class sessions. Students are also invited to check out links to course relevant web pages on the professor’s web page and the class page. Materials on the course’s web page will be updated during the semester and will supplement rather than duplicate the substance of the lectures and the readings.

Grading

Assessment of the students in this course will be based on their performance on two short writing assignments, a single, long writing assignment, a comprehensive examination, and in-class participation. The grade breakdown follows:

| | |

|Paper #1 |20% |

| | |

|Paper #2 |20% |

| | |

|The Comprehensive Exam (each answer) |40% (20%) |

| | |

|Class Participation |20% |

The Writing Assignments

The purpose of the writing assignments is to provide the students with an opportunity to reflect more thoughtfully on both the theories and empirical cases of the course. These assignments must be turned in before or on the due date specified below. Late work will receive no credit.

Paper #1: Students will be asked to prepare a short critical essay of five-six pages in length (typed, double-spaced, 12cpi, one-inch margins, paginated) on a particular author’s approach, a concept, theory, or the interpretation of an empirical case on any of the comprehensive themes discussed in this first section of the course (e.g., political culture, development, ethnic identity, dependency, etc.). The short essay must evaluate the consistency and usefulness of the author’s main argument(s), pointing out strengths and weaknesses, and concluding with at least a one-page alternative approach, concept, theory or interpretation that would minimize the weaknesses of the author’s main argument(s). The purpose of this exercise is to encourage the students to apply critical analysis rather than descriptive skills to the conceptual materials in the course. A brief handout will provide details on this assignment at least one week before the paper is due.

Paper #2: Students will choose two of the following eight countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, and Bolivia. In a short critical essay of five-six pages in length (typed, double-spaced, 12cpi, one-inch margins, paginated), students will compare the selected countries to test at least one of the analytical approaches/theories discussed in the first section of the course. As with the first paper assignment, a brief handout will provide details at least one week before the paper is due.

The Floating Comprehensive Exam

Format: take-home essay exam. Beginning with session 4 and ending with session 7, students will be presented with a set of questions and may choose one per session and compose a 5-6 page answer. The comprehensive exam will “float” until we conclude our study of particular countries. Students will have two weeks after the session outline containing the exam questions is distributed in class to complete the assignment. The difficulty level of the questions will increase over time.

The comprehensive exam will test the ability of the student to (1) become familiar with particular empirical cases, (2) build and apply simple causal arguments about issues and problems specific to these cases, and (3) identify similarities and differences in the politics of addressing these questions across national cases. The format of the exam provides students with the opportunity to divide their workload so as to accommodate their assignment schedules in other courses. A handout will answer frequently asked questions regarding the floating exam at the top of session 2.

Class Participation

Communicating your insight into the subjects analyzed in this course is an integral part of the learning experience. In no way do I consider class participation a residual category for subjectively determining the final grade. In this course, I will evaluate your performance in both formal, scheduled presentations and informal class discussion. All oral arguments and presentations will be assessed on structure, relevance, insight, and style. The following are structured presentation formats that will be used in this course:

(1) Debates on neoliberal reform and Chiapas.

(2) Simulations on “delegative democracy” and U.S. intervention.

(3) Small group discussions on numerous topics.

Attendance

Consistent attendance in the course is required. If you know you will be absent due to a scheduling conflict involving athletic events, Model U.N., forensics, job interviews, or any other activity, please communicate that to me as soon as possible. Keep in mind that given the unique aspects of a class, you can't really "make up" an absence.

The Grading Scale

I will be using the following grading scale in this course:

98-100 A+

94-97 A

91-93 A-

88-90 B+

83-87 B

79-82 B-

76-78 C+

72-75 C

68-71 C-

67/below D/F

Academic Misconduct

Given the fact that academe relies upon the ethical conduct of scholars, students are held to the same standards in their own work. Any act of academic dishonesty or misconduct will be referred to the Office of the Associate Dean. For further information, see Carleton College’s Academic Honesty in the Writing of Essays and Other Papers and the section on “academic honesty” in Academic Regulations and Procedures, 2004-05. Both are available in Laird 140 or on-line on the Office of the Dean page.

Special Needs

Students requiring access to learning tools/special schedules approved by Carleton’s Office of Disability Services (ODS) should contact me at the beginning of the course. These students should also consult Disability Services for Students: Policies, Procedures and Resources, which is distributed by ODS.

NOTE: Readings must be completed for the dates assigned below.

PART ONE:

CONCEPTS AND APPROACHES

Session 1: Breaking Stereotypes: In Search of the "Real" Latin America

What are America’s stereotypes of Latin America and its people? (January 3, Monday)

Web page: Cartoons from George Black, The Good Neighbor (New York, NY: Pantheon, 1988).

“South of the Border,” by Gene Autry, sung by Frank Sinatra.

What are the political sources of American stereotypes of Latin America

and its people? Must these stereotypes be broken? If so, how? (January 5, Wednesday)

Robert Pastor, “The Lessons and Legacy of Omar Torrijos.” Chapter 1 of Exiting the Whirlpool: U.S. Foreign Policy Toward Latin America and the Caribbean. Boulder: Westview Press, 2001.

Mark Falcoff, “America’s Culture Wars and the Cuban Revolution.” Chapter 13 of A Culture of Its Own: Taking Latin America Seriously. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1998.

Skidmore and Smith, Prologue (Recommended).

Assessing Latin America from the U.S. Perspective: The problem of objectivity and ethnocentrism. (January 7, Friday).

Lawrence E. Harrison, The Pan-American Dream: Do Latin America’s Cultural Values Discourage True Partnership with the United States and Canada? Boulder: Westview, 1997, Chapter 1.

Session 2: Colonial History and the Cultural Foundations of Latin American Politics

Are Latin American politics shaped by a path dependent legacy from the colonial past? (January 10, Monday)

Diamond et al., pp. 1-43.

Skidmore and Smith, Chapter 1 (Recommended).

What are the cultural (ascriptive) foundations of Latin American politics? (January 12, Wednesday)

Howard Wiarda, “Social Change, Political Development, and the Latin American Tradition,” in Peter F. Klarén and Thomas J. Bossert, eds., Promise of Development: Theories of Change in Latin America. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1986.

How strong are historical and cultural path dependencies? Can they be broken? (January 14, Friday)

Lívia Neves de H. Barbosa, “The Brazilian Jeitinho: An Exercise in National Identity,” in David J. Hess and Roberto A. DaMatta (eds.), The Brazilian Puzzle: Culture on the Borderlands of the Western World. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1995.

Ernesto Che Guevara, The Motorcycle Diaries (All).

Film: (Nine Queens (Nueve Reinas)( (Argentina). (Showing at a time and place TBA).

Recommended: Video #4, The Annenberg/CPB (Americas( Collection: “Mirrors of the Heart: Race and Identity.” (Approximately one hour in length).

Session 3: Development and Crisis in the 20th Century

How did patterns of development shape Latin American politics in the 20th century? (January 17, Monday)

Diamond et al., pp. 44-53.

Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Enzo Faletto, Dependency and Development in Latin America. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1979, Chapter 2.

Bolívar Lamounier, “Brazil: Inequality Against Democracy,” in Diamond et al.

Skidmore and Smith, Chapter 2. (Recommended).

How was Latin American society incorporated into development models? (January 19, Wednesday)

Eliana Cardoso and Ann Helwege, “Import Substitution Industrialization,” in Jeffry Frieden, Manuel Pastor, and Michael Tomz, eds. Modern Political Economy and Latin America: Theory and Policy. Boulder: Westview Press, 2000.

Rosemary Thorp, Progress, Poverty and Exclusion: An Economic History of Latin America in the 20th Century. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998, Chapter 7.

Gary Gereffi, “Paths of Industrialization,” in Gary Gereffi and Donald L. Wyman, eds. Manufacturing Miracles: Paths of Industrialization in Latin America and East Asia. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990, 3-23.

Recommended: Video #2, The Annenberg/CPB “Americas” Collection: “Capital Sins.”(

Is the neoliberal development model an improvement on the past? (January 21, Friday)

John Williamson, “What Washington Means by Policy Reform,” in Jeffry Frieden, Manuel Pastor, and Michael Tomz, eds. Modern Political Economy and Latin America: Theory and Policy. Boulder: Westview Press, 2000.

Rudiger Dornbusch, “The Case for Trade Liberalization in Developing Countries,” in Jeffry Frieden, Manuel Pastor, and Michael Tomz, eds. Modern Political Economy and Latin America: Theory and Policy. Boulder: Westview Press, 2000.

Duncan Green, Silent Revolution: The Rise of Market Economics in Latin America. London: Cassell, 1995, Chapters 6-7.

Debate #1: Neoliberalism.

PART TWO:

COUNTRY EXPERIENCES

Session 4: Transitioning To and Deepening Democracy: Argentina, Brazil, and Chile

Why did democracies collapse into authoritarianism in Brazil and the Southern Cone during the 1960's and 1970's? (January 24, Monday)

Arturo Valenzuela, “Chile: Origins and Consolidation of a Latin American Democracy,” in Diamond et al.

Alfred Stepan, “Political Leadership and Regime Breakdown: Brazil,” in Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan, eds., The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Latin America, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1978.

Recommended: Video #1, The Annenberg/CPB “Americas” Collection: “The Garden of Forking Paths.”

How was authoritarianism organized in these countries? (January 26, Wednesday)

Carlos H. Waisman, “Argentina: Capitalism and Democracy,” in Diamond et al., 76-103.

Marguerite Feitlowitz, A Lexicon of Terror: Argentina and the Legacies of Torture, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 19-51.

Film: “Missing’ (Showing time and place TBA).

PAPER #1 DUE (January 27, Thursday)

How were transitions from authoritarianism to democracy possible in the 1980's? (January 28, Friday)

J. Samuel Valenzuela, “Democratic Consolidation in Post-Transitional Settings: Notion, Process, and Facilitating Conditions,” in Scott Mainwaring, Guillermo O’Donnell, and J. Samuel Valenzuela, eds., Issues in Democratic Consolidation: The New South American Democracies in Comparative Perspective, Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1992.

How can Brazil and the Southern Cone cope with the legacy left by authoritarianism? (January 31, Monday)

Wendy Hunter, “Assessing Civil-Military Relations in Postauthoritarian Brazil,” in Kingstone and Power.

Timothy J. Power, “Political Institutions in Democratic Brazil,” in Kingstone and Power.

Recommended: Video #5: The Annenberg/CPB “Americas” Collection: “In Women’s Hands”

Session 5: Neoliberal Reform and Its Discontents: Mexico

How did the institutionalization of the Mexican Revolution unravel in the Lost Decade of the 1980's? (February 2, Wednesday)

Daniel C. Levy and Kathleen Bruhn, “Mexico: Sustained Civilian Rule and the Question of Democracy,” in Diamond et al., pp. 519-560.

Joy Langston, “Breaking Out is Hard to Do: Exit, Voice, and Loyalty in Mexico’s One-Party Hegemonic Regime,” Latin American Politics and Society 44:3 (Fall 2002).

Why did the Mexican state fail to deal with these persisting problems? (February 4, Friday)

Jonathan Fox, “The Difficult Transition from Clientelism to Citizenship: Lessons from Mexico,” in Chalmers et al.

Film: Frontline: “Murder, Money, and Mexico.” (Showing time and place TBA).

Mid-term Break (February 7, Monday)

Are Mexico’s problems too deep for the state to matter? The causes and meaning of the Chiapas revolt. (February 9, Wednesday)

Tom Barry, Zapata’s Revenge: Free Trade and the Farm Crisis in Mexico, Boston, MA: South End Press, 1995, Chapters 4, 7, & 9.

June Nash, "The Reassertion of Indigenous Identity: Mayan Responses to State Intervention in Chiapas," Latin American Research Review 30:3 (1995).

Debate #2: Chiapas.

Reconsidering the Neoliberal Reform Agenda (February 11, Friday)

Kerianne Piester, “Targeting the Poor: The Politics of Social Policy Reforms in Mexico,” in Chalmers et al.

María Lorena Cook, “Regional Integration and Transnational Politics: Popular Sector Strategies in the NAFTA Era,” in Chalmers et al.

Session 6: Democratization and The Problem of Governability: Venezuela, Colombia, and The Central Andean Countries (Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador)

What are the threats to sovereignty in Venezuela, Colombia, and the Central Andean states? (February 14, Monday)

Jonathan Hartlyn and John Dugas, “Colombia: The Politics of Violence and Democratic Transformation” OR Cynthia McClintock, ‘Peru: Precarious Regimes, Authoritarian and Democratic,” in Diamond et al.

Philip Mauceri, State Under Siege: Development and Policy Making in Peru, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1996, Chapter 7, “Sendero Luminoso [Shining Path]: Ideology and the State in the Andes.”

Kenneth M. Roberts, “Social Correlates of Party System Demise and Populist Resurgence in Venezuela,” Latin American Politics and Society 45:3 (Fall 2003).

Film: “Killing Pablo” (History Channel) (Showing time and place TBA).

What are the causes and consequences of the internal crisis of Latin American states? (February 16, Wednesday)

Miguel Centeno, Blood and Debt: War and the Nation-State in Latin America, University Park: Penn State University Press, 2002, Chapter 1.

Guillermo O’Donnell, “On the State, Democratization, and Some Conceptual Problems: A Latin American View with Glances at Some Postcommunist Countries,” in Guillermo O’Donnell, ed., Counterpoints: Selected Essays on Authoritarianism and Democratization, Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1999.

Maxwell A. Cameron, “Political and Economic Origins of Regime Change in Peru: The Eighteenth Brumaire of Alberto Fujimori,” in Maxwell A. Cameron and Philip Mauceri, eds., The Peruvian Labyrinth: Polity, Society, and Economy, University Park: Penn State University Press, 1997.

Do the failures of these states open the way to alternative systems of governance? (February 18, Friday)

Philip Mauceri, State Under Siege: Development and Policy Making in Peru, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1996, Chapter 6, “Villa El Salvador: Popular Organization and the State in a Lima Shantytown.”

Monique Segarra, “Redefining the Public/Private Mix: NGOs and the Emergency Social Investment Fund in Ecuador,” in Chalmers et al.

Merilee S. Grindle, “Shadowing the Past? Policy Reform in Bolivia, 1985-2002,” in Merilee S. Grindle and Pilar Domingo, eds., Proclaiming Revolution: Bolivia in Comparative Perspective, London: ILAS, 2003.

Can democracy survive attacks on the sovereignty of these states? (February 21, Monday)

Guillermo O’Donnell, “Delegative Democracy,” in Guillermo O’Donnell, ed., Counterpoints: Selected Essays on Authoritarianism and Democratization, Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1999.

Aldo Panfichi, “The Authoritarian Alternative: ‘Anti-Politics’ in the Popular Sectors of Lima,” in Chalmers et al.

Jo-Marie Burt, “Political Violence and the Grassroots in Lima, Peru,” in Chalmers et al.

Simulation #1: Delegative Democracy

Session 7: Dealing with the U.S.: Cuba, the Caribbean, and Central America

Are the small states of Latin America hopelessly dependent? (February 23, Wednesday)

Rosario Espinal and Jonathan Hartlyn, “The Dominican Republic: The Long and Difficult Struggle for Democracy,” in Diamond et al.

Skidmore and Smith, Chapters 8, 9, or 10. (Recommended).

Is revolution a way out of dependency? (February 25, Friday)

Susan Eckstein, Back from the Future, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994, Chapter 2.

Robert Pastor, Exiting the Whirlpool: U.S. Foreign Policy Toward Latin America and the Caribbean. Boulder: Westview Press, 2001, Chapters 8-9 (“Succession Crises” and “Revolutionary Regimes”).

Recommended: Video #9, The Annenberg/CPB “Americas” Collection: “Fire in the Mind: Revolutions and Revolutionaries.” (Approximately one hour in length).

Can the U.S. play a productive role in the Latin American small states? (February 28, Monday)

Film: “Frontline: The Drug War.”

Simulation #2: U.S. Intervention in Latin American Revolutions

PART THREE:

A CLOSER LOOK AT A CONSOLIDATING DEMOCRACY: BRAZIL

Session 8: The Fragility of Democracy and Institutional Responses (March 2, Wednesday)

Kurt Weyland, “The Brazilian State in the New Democracy,” in Kingstone and Power.

Alfred P. Montero, “Devolving Democracy? Political Decentralization and the New Brazilian Federalism,” in Kingstone and Power.

Session 9: Democratic Actors and Regime ‘Consolidation’ (March 4, Friday)

William R. Nylen, “The Making of a Loyal Opposition: The Workers’ Party (PT) and the Consolidation of Democracy in Brazil,” in Kingstone and Power.

Kenneth P. Serbin, “The Catholic Church, Religious Pluralism, and Democracy in Brazil,” in Kingstone and Power.

Kathryn Hochstetler, “Democratizing Pressures from Below? Social Movements in the New Brazilian Democracy,” in Kingstone and Power.

Film: “Bus 174” (Brazil) (Showing time and place TBA).

Session 10: Economic and Social Change in the New Brazilian Democracy (March 7, Monday)

Anthony W. Pereira, “An Ugly Democracy? State Violence and the Rule of Law in Postauthoritarian Brazil,” in Kingstone and Power.

Timothy J. Power and J. Timmons Roberts, “A New Brazil? The Changing Sociodemographic Context of Brazilian Democracy,” in Kingstone and Power.

PAPER #2 DUE (March 8, Tuesday)

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