Latin America

Mexico: Democracy Without Citizenship?

Philipp Dreyer • Jun 26 2012 • Essays

The relationship between citizenship and the quality of democracy has become an increasing concern to Mexico’s democratic transition.

Power, Domestic Politics, and the Spanish-American War

Bella Wang • May 21 2012 • Essays

The Spanish-American War fails to support strict interpretation of democratic peace theory, and instead provides an instance in which two democracies went go to war because their people demanded it.

Women’s Bodies Are Battlefields

Beth Speake • Apr 25 2012 • Essays

The targeting of women’s bodies in times of conflict has come to light as a systematic strategy which has been used by different actors in many different contexts worldwide. The current situation in Guatemala provides a pertinent case study.

South-South Cooperation and Aid

Megan Pickup • Mar 26 2012 • Essays

Brazil, China, India, and South Africa represent some of the largest contributors overall in terms of emerging donors and are likely the highest contributors to the specific category of SSC.

Why Do New Democracies Not Choose First Past the Post?

Tom Pettinger • Feb 9 2012 • Essays

New democracies can achieve their primary objectives of inclusiveness and compromise much more effectively with proportional representation or mixed systems.

The Role of the Economic Elite in Mexico’s Democratic Development

Shaye Worthman • Jan 9 2012 • Essays

A widely held middle class critique of Mexico’s governing institutions is that politicians are accountable only to the private elites and do not respond to middle and lower class needs. Indeed, with a history of oligarchic-type rule and pervasive government corruption, private sector elites have consistently been major players in Mexican politics.

The Rise of the La Familia Michoacana

Shaye Worthman • Dec 16 2011 • Essays

On May 30th, 2010, former Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Mora Medina declared the drug cartel La Familia Michoacana, known simply as “La Familia,” to be the most dangerous in all of Mexico. The rise of La Familia, its bizarre ideology and indoctrination of members, and the lower-class following it has received have separated it from other DTOs in Mexico.

Is the US winning the ‘War on Drugs’ in Latin America?

Miranda Murphy • Dec 9 2011 • Essays

The general consensus in the literature and the media is that the US is losing the ‘war on drugs’. Rates of consumption in the US have remained roughly the same over the last ten years and the drug trade remains a multi-billion dollar industry run by a complex international network.

The Dreamboat That Ran Aground: U.S. Policy Towards Venezuela 1955-1960

Christy Quinn • Oct 30 2011 • Essays

The US experience in Venezuela helped nuance its wider policy towards Latin America by challenging the reliance on free market economics. While the Eisenhower administration chose to re-emphasise democratic values in order to combat rising Communist radicalism, practical support for democracy proved to be limited.

Is the Cuban problem fading away with the ageing Castro regime?

Benedict Hayes • Sep 18 2011 • Essays

US attempts at regime change in Cuba have inadvertently created a martyr for anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist movements. Fidel Castro shall continue to play an important role in US-Latin American relations long after his death, with the regime standing as a focal anti-US hub in Latin America.

Please Consider Donating

Before you download your free e-book, please consider donating to support open access publishing.

E-IR is an independent non-profit publisher run by an all volunteer team. Your donations allow us to invest in new open access titles and pay our bandwidth bills to ensure we keep our existing titles free to view. Any amount, in any currency, is appreciated. Many thanks!

Donations are voluntary and not required to download the e-book - your link to download is below.

Subscribe

Get our weekly email