Lecture + Tutorial + Reading Notes Latin America
Summary for Introduction
LA most democratic region after Europe
Leader in inclusion of women, new social policies, and transitional justice
However, also lead run corruption and violence
Formation of modern states and their four functions=strengthening the
capacity of states, building inclusive nations, crafting democratic regimes,
selecting model of development that generates socioeconomic welfare.
19 countries
Early history of Latin American countries can be divided into pre-
Columbian era, and colonial era
Used to be populated by indigenous people that developed one of the first
states and political organisations in the world.
Colonised by Spanish/Portuguese rulers for 3 centuries.
Formation of modern states- political organisations that have a monopoly
of violence and that rule over a relatively large territory and a population
that shares a common sense as nationals.
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,Definitions and four core issues of modern states
State capacity: the ability of a state to impose its rule throughout the
territory and over the population it claims to control.
Nation building: the deliberate effort to connect the state and the nation,
and to construct a sense of nationhood – of cultural belonging – in part by
defining the role of different racial and ethnic groups in constructs of the
nation.
Political regimes and democracy: the rules concerning access to the
government offices that are endowed with the authority to make the most
important public decisions and, in particular, whether these rules allow
most citizens to determine who will govern them by voting in free and fair
elections – a distinctive feature of democracy.
Development models and socioeconomic welfare: the set of policies that
aim to foster economic growth – and that indirectly affect the material
well-being of citizens – and the policies that seek to directly ensure the
social welfare of citizens.
We will hold that countries have made progress when they have changed
in the direction of:
(1)a capable state, able to enforce the law and implement collective
projects;
(2)an inclusive sense of nationhood that treats all groups as equally
worthy parts of the nation
(3)a democratic political regime that recognises the right of citizens to
determine who governs them;
(4)a development model that generates a high, roughly evenly
distributed, level of socioeconomic welfare (i.e., that reduces poverty
and inequality).
States established middle of 19th century even if independence was
achieved earlier, state formation was achieved around 1875.
History of LA states can be divided into three time period
1880-1930, 1930-1980, 1980-now
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,1980s-90s- big political and social change, social mobilisation, triggered
my Mexican default of foreign debt in 1982.
Region faced economic crisis- led to profound and sudden free market
reforms and a wave of protests against those reforms.
Widespread process of democratisation
State capacity did not changed- still weak
Nation building had a change- inclusion, sense of nationhood
Political regime changed -democratisation
Development models- changed, but would not call it progressive, many
problems form neoliberal reforms-high inequality.
Weaknesses of LA- persistent state weakness, and high inequality.
State weakness- ability to control population, have monopoly of violence,
hold free and fair elections, if policies can be implemented.
Existence of disadvantaged populations- women, indigenous, afro-
descendants, and ordinary people.
Progress is mixed in Latin America
Success in inclusion of women, CCT, transitional justice
Troubles- low quality democracies, corruption, violence, environmental
damage, no improvement for indigenous and Afro-Descendants,
inequality.
Problems of democracy, such as the poor quality of democracy, and the
fluctuating, unstructured, nature of political party systems, prevent
democracies from truly representing the interests of citizens and restrict
their positive effect.
Problems from weak state capacity form systems that reproduce
economic inequality.
The failure to resolve problems for democracy, those things citizens
expect democracy to deliver, raises questions about the legitimacy of
democracy.
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, In contemporary Latin America, problems of democracy prevent the
elimination of problems for democracy, and unresolved problems for
democracy block the possibility of reducing problems of democracy
Chapter 1
The state and state capacity
State’s primary function- to provide order, protect citizen’s rights, enforce
the law.
Sometimes state is absent- self-defence groups take power.
State weakness as defining feature in Latin American countries
Modern State- political organization that centralizes political power, marks
the territorial boundaries with neighbouring states, and maintains control
over the population within the delimited territory. The modern state is also
the guarantor of all citizen rights – political, civil, and social.
Weber’s state- “human community that (successfully) claims the
monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.”
Figure 1, State Capacity
Main political organizations pre-Columbus
Incas and Aztecs, many more outside the empire, estimated number of
indigenous people was 54 million.
Aztecs and Incas defeated by colonisers
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