Does Democratization Alter the Policy Process? Trade Policymaking in Brazil

This article explores the implications of transitions to democracy for the economic policymaking process in developing countries. Democracy is supposed to give citizens oversight of their political leaders, while providing leaders with electoral incentives to respect citizens' preferences. Consequently, a shift from authoritarian to democratic rule ought to alter policymaking. Using the case of Brazilian trade policy, this article examines changed versus consistent patterns of post-transition interest aggregation, political participation, and economic goal-setting. Contrary to expectations of a notably enlarged role for the legislative houses, the study finds that Brazil's executive still dominates trade policymaking. However, significant and increasingly transparent interest aggregation occurs within the federal executive. Moreover, policy capture by sectoral special interests has decreased, while non-traditional civil society participants have gained some influence, and trade policy outcomes now are arguably more public-regarding. We find that Brazil's trade policy process has been incrementally democratized.     

Fragmentation of presidential elections and governability crises in Latin America: a curvilinear relationship?

Part of the literature views high numbers of presidential candidates as a threat to political stability in presidential democracies. A contradictory model proposes that an overconcentration of the presidential party system is problematic. Both models are hard to reconcile. We approach this puzzle by arguing that the relationship between the level of presidential election fragmentation and governability crises is curvilinear: both very low and very high effective numbers of presidential candidates increase the risk of governability crisis. We test this theoretical claim with ordered logit models drawing on a sample of 108 presidencies in Latin America between 1978 and 2013 and using an ordinal index of the intensity of crisis as the dependent variable. We explore the operation of the theorized causal mechanisms through case studies and argue that they are different at both extremes, high and low levels of fragmentation. Finally, we formulate implications for the design of presidential electoral rules drawing on the debate contrasting runoff and plurality rules.     

Participatory democracy and ethnic minorities: opening inclusive new spaces or reproducing inequalities?

In the past decade, Latin America has emerged as the epicentre of participatory democracy innovations. Proponents argue that participation should lead to more equitable access to public goods and a greater sense of political efficacy. There has been considerable debate in the academic literature and in the public sphere over the extent to which participation can produce these benefits. Yet, while Latin America has witnessed an explosion of participatory mechanisms and related academic attention, the literature has focused on socioeconomic dimensions. There has been little attention paid to the experiences of racialized groups, such as indigenous peoples and Latin Americans of African descent. Research suggests that in order for participatory mechanisms to produce positive outcomes, they must be inclusive and offer participants a forum for real deliberation, but how do groups that have faced barriers related to racism and discrimination engage in these initiatives? Drawing on evidence from indigenous Ecuadorian and Afro-Venezuelan citizen participants, this article argues that participatory mechanisms may reproduce the very types of inequalities that representative institutions are criticized for. Comparing cases across and within different jurisdictions reveals that certain conditions enhance the ability of ethnic minorities to benefit from involvement in participatory mechanisms.     

The Dominican Republic and Central America Free Trade Agreement with the USA: some concerns

This article examines the role of free-trade agreements that integrate profoundly asymmetrical economies in simultaneously benefiting the more powerful nation and exacerbating inequalities within and between the countries involved. The latest in a series of such agreements in the Americas, the Dominican Republic and Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR–CAFTA), opens up the economies of these small nations to US investment and exports, as multinational companies are able to take advantage of lower production costs and weak labour legislation. In the global economy, South–South trade agreements offer a far better alternative for countries with weak institutions and little economic or political leverage.     

Gender mainstreaming in organisational culture and agricultural research processes

Despite increased attention to gender issues in the international development arena since the rise of feminism in the 1970s, few agricultural research organisations have integrated gender in their problem diagnosis and technology development. Gender mainstreaming can significantly enhance the impact of research and technology development. Entrenching gender mainstreaming in organisations and their research agendas remains a challenge. To overcome it requires political will, accountability, a change in organisational culture, and technical capacity within an organisation. This article presents an experience of gender-mainstreaming practice in the institutional culture and agricultural research processes by Urban Harvest and the International Potato Centre (CIP).