States Societies: Lat Amer

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor, Undergraduate

This course will analyze the major political trends and issues that have shaped Latin American governments and politics throughout the course of the twentieth century as well as the key issues confronting the region as it begins the 21st century. The study of Latin America has been a rich source of theory for political scientists, contributing to a general understanding of development issues, regime change, military rule and democratic transition, among other themes. As such, given the developments of the last decades (the return of military leaders to their barracks which ended in some cases decades of authoritarian rule, the great difficulties that practically all nations in the region have had in consolidating democratic governance, the rise of new social movements, the rise of a new left, exacerbated social and security tensions caused by drug trafficking and organized crime, and finally the persistence in some countries of old forms of armed violence) the theoretical models drawn from Latin America have also been applied to other nations in other regions experiencing comparable changes, in Eastern Europe and in parts of Asia and Africa. This course will examine several of these broad trends of politics in the region, focusing on the actors and processes which have shaped institutions, policies, parties, movements and political events in contemporary Latin America, The second half of the course will examine recent changes in politics, principally those relating to new social movements, identity, gender and ethnicity, drug-trafficking, political parties, and newer post-cold war conflicts. We will draw on some of the best social science literature, together with videos and films that elucidate contemporary political themes. The aim of this course is to promote a more comprehensive understanding and familiarity with the social science literature and approaches that have been used to study a key and vital region in international politics and the emerging global economy and polity.