Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POL3220: The Politics of Democracy in Latin America

This module descriptor refers to the 2017/8 academic year.

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Basic reading:

 

Joe Foweraker and Dolores Trevizo eds. (2016) Democracy and its Discontents in Latin America (Lynne Rienner Publishers) contains essays addressing some of the module’s central analytical themes.

Peter Kingstone and Deborah Yashar eds. (2012) ­Routledge Handbook of Latin American Politics reviews the literature on many of the module’s main topics.

Thomas Skidmore, Peter Smith and James Green (2013) Modern Latin America 8th edition (OUP) comprises useful historical introductions to the different countries.

John Peeler (2009) Building Democracy in Latin America 3rd edition (Lynne Rienner) takes a thematic approach to democracy using basic concepts from political theory.

Peter H. Smith (2005) Democracy in Latin America: Political Change in Comparative Perspective (OUP) delivers a rounded analytical overview.

Joe Foweraker et al. (2003) Governing Latin America (Polity) provides a thematic and comparative account of the politics of the region.

In addition, many of the concepts, institutions and practices mentioned in the course may be explored in Barry Clarke and Joe Foweraker eds. (2001) Encyclopedia of Democratic Thought (Routledge); while a synoptic inquiry into the conditions of democracy itself can be found in Robert Dahl (1998) On Democracy (Yale University Press). Original readings in democratic theory and inquiry can be found in R. Dahl, I. Shapiro and J. A. Cheibub (2002) Democracy Sourcebook (MIT Press).