Political Science 337

LATIN AMERICAN POLITICS

Course Description

This course provides a basic introduction to Latin American politics.  The first part of the course examines the evolution of state structures in the region, including early colonial and post-colonial rule, the populism and radicalism of the 1950s and 1960s, the emergence of military regimes during the 1970s, and the recent reestablishment of constitutional "democracies."  We then consider various economic, social, cultural, and environmental issues which condition contemporary state-society relations throughout the region.  The last section examines hemispheric relations, especially between Latin America and the United States, and contemporary initiatives to promote regional integration.

 Course Outline

                                     I.  INTRODUCTION

                                                II.  HISTORICAL BACKDROP

                                                                A. Conquest and Colonization

                                                                B.  Independence and Nation-Building

                                                III. POLITICAL CONFLICT

                                                                A.  Populism

                                                                B.  Revolution

                                                                C.  Militarism

                                                 IV. CONTEMPORARY GOVERNANCE

                                                                A.  Democratic Transitions

                                                                B.  Democratic Limitations

                                                                C.  Social Movements

                                                  V.  POLITICAL-ECONOMY

                                                                A.  Dependent Development

                                                                B.  State-Led Development

                                                                C.  Neo-Liberalism

                                                 VI.  SOCIAL PATTERNS

                                                                A.  Class

                                                                B.  Gender

                                                                C.  Ethnicity

                                              VII.  CULTURE

                                                                A.  Political Culture

                                                                B.  Religion

                                             VIII.  ENVIRONMENT

                                                                A.  Population and Urbanization

                                                                B.  Ecology

                                                  IX.  INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT

                                                                A.  United States-Latin American Relations

                                                                B.  Regional Integration

                                                  X.  CONCLUSION:  ALTERNATIVE FUTURES