PS 134AA:
COMPARATIVE POLITICS OF
LATIN AMERICA, or
DEMOCRACY AND
DEMOCRATIZATION IN
LATIN AMERICA
Spring 2011
Instructor: Peter H. Smith
364 Social Science Building
phsmith@dss.ucsd.edu
Office hours: Wednesday 11-1
TA/Grader: Kathryn Dove
320 Social Science Building
kdove@ucsd.edu
Office hours: Wednesday 3:30-4:30
COURSE WEBSITE
http://weber.ucsd.edu/~phsmith/ps134aa.htm
OR go to UCSD and then:
Political Science
Faculty
Peter Smith
Homepage
Teaching
PS134AA
REQUIRED READING
• Peter H. Smith, Democracy in Latin America:
Political Change in Comparative Perspective (2005)
• Thomas E. Skidmore, Peter H. Smith, and James N.
Green Modern Latin America, 7th revised edition
(2010)
• Course Reader:
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www.universityreaders.com
“STUDENTS BUY HERE” in “Student Store”
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Follow instructions
EXAMS AND ASSIGNMENTS
• Mid-term: Wednesday, May 4 (33% of grade)
• Final: TBA (67% of grade)
• Optional paper: Wednesday, May 25 (30% of
course grade, reducing mid-term to 20% and
final to 50%)
KEY QUESTIONS
• What explains the spread of democracy in
Latin America? Given authoritarian past?
• What kind of democracy? What quality?
• What’s new about the current phase of
democratic change? How does it compare to
prior periods?
• What role (if any) for the United States?
• What implications for U.S. relations with
Latin America?
COURSE SCHEDULE
•
•
•
•
Mar 30: Introduction
Apr 06: Cycles and Transitions
Apr 13: Changing Roles of the Military
Apr 20: Presidentialism, Parties, and
Legislatures
• Apr 27: Economic Policies and Governmental
Performance
SCHEDULE (cont.)
• May 04: MIDTERM
• May 11: Liberal and Illiberal Democracy/
Social Class and Satisfaction
• May 18: Politics of Gender
• May 25: The Rise of the New Left
• June 01: What Now? Democracy and U.S.Latin American Relations
ELECTORAL REGIMES
• Democratic = free and fair
• Semi-democratic = free but not fair
• Oligarchic = fair but not free
• Nondemocratic = Nonexistent or openly
fraudulent
Figure 1. Cycles of Political Change in Latin America, 1900-2000
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
Number
11
Semi-Democracy
Oligarchy
Democracy
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1900 1905 1910 1915 1920 1925 1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
Year
NONDEMOCRATIC TRADITIONS
Types of Authoritarian Regime
Leadership
__________
________________Power Structure___________________
Personalist
Institutionalized
________________
___________________
Military
Traditional Caudillo or
“Man on Horseback”
Civilian
Technocratic State or
Sultanistic Despotism
Collective Junta or
Bureaucratic-Authoritarian
Regime
One-Party State or
Corporatist Regime
FRIENDLY ADMONITIONS
• 1. Try to put yourself in the place of a Latin
American citizen,
• 2. Imagine how the world feels, not only how
it looks,
• 3. View course material as relevant to political
change in other regions and parts of the world,
• 4. Take videos seriously, and
• 5. Have fun!