PS 134AA: Comparative Politics
of Latin America
Study Guide
Winter 2010
FINAL EXAMINATION
7:00-10:00 p.m. Monday, March 15, Pepper Canyon 109
•Closed book exam
•No cell phones, I-pods, whatever
•Coverage: entire course, but with emphasis on second half
•Bring blue books and writing materials
FILMS AND VIDEOS:
1. “Missing”
2. “A Hazy Transparency”
3. “Garden of the Forking Paths”
4. “In Women’s Hands”
5. “The Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt”
BASIC TEXTS
• Smith, Democracy in Latin America: Political
Change in Comparative Perspective (2005),
entire
• Skidmore, Smith, and Green, Modern Latin
America (2010), almost all
COURSE READER
• Magaloni, “Demise of Mexico’s One-Party
System”
• Peeler, “Social Justice and the New Indigenous
Politics”
• Htun, “Women and Democracy”
• Cleary, “Explaining the Left’s Resurgence”
• Smith, “Exploring Unexpected Opportunities”
STRUCTURE OF EXAM
PART I. DISCUSSION ITEMS
[approximately 10 out of 13]
PART II. SHORT ESSAYS
[some choice available]
PART III. LONG ESSAY
[one out of two or three]
SAMPLE
IDENTIFICATION ITEMS
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Open list
Concertación
Bureaucratic-Authoritarian Regime
Evo Morales
EZLN
“Aló, Presidente”
Partido Justicialista/Justicialist Party
Green Oxygen party
Lula
MRO
Washington Consensus
SHORT ESSAY TOPICS
1. Has the political condition of Latin American women improved under
electoral democracy? In what ways? To what degree?
2. What do public opinion surveys suggest about popular commitment to
democracy in Latin America?
3. What explains the durability of contemporary democracy in Argentina and
Brazil?
4. What are the defining characteristics of the recent “pink wave” in Latin
American politics? Do you think that it is likely to endure? Why or why
not?
LONG ESSAY QUESTIONS
1. It has been said that dysfunctional (non-functioning) channels of
popular representation represent the most serious challenges to
democratic development in Latin America. Do you agree with this
assessment? Why? Why not?
2. Is “illiberal democracy” the future of Latin American politics? Present
arguments for and against this idea. Which side do you favor and why?
3. Describe and analyze processes of democratization in Latin America
during the course of the twentieth century. How has democracy changed
over time? What have become its defining characteristics?