Global Crisis and Latin America

This essay examines Latin America's experience in the crisis and restructuring of world capitalism from the 1970s into the twenty‐first century, with particular emphasis on the neo‐liberal model, social conflicts and institutional quagmires that have engulfed the region, and the rise of a new resistance politics. The empirical and analytical sections look at: Latin America's changing profile in the global division of labour; the domination of speculative finance capital; the continued debt crisis, its social effects and political implications; capital–labour restructuring, the spread of informalisation and the new inequality; the passage from social explosions to institutional crises; the new popular electoral politics and the fragility of the neo‐liberal state. These issues are approached through the lens of global capitalism theory. This theory sees the turn‐of‐century global system as a new epoch in the history of world capitalism, emphasising new patterns of power and social polarisation worldwide and such concepts as a transnational accumulation, transnational capitalists and a transnational state. Finally, the essay argues that global capitalism faces a twin crisis in the early twenty‐first century, of overaccumulation and of legitimacy, and explores the prospects for social change in Latin America and worldwide.     

COVID-19 and Historical Global Rupture in Latin America

This article contrasts two significant ruptures in globalisation. World War I in 1914 was a significant break from the Latin American export-oriented development that was firmly connected to economic globalisation. This article uses the Argentine case study to reveal the ramifications of the post-1914 global breakdown for the republic's internationally dependent development. It draws comparisons with the current COVID-19 crisis as a significant departure from rapid globalisation. Both events altered the trajectory of international activity. Analysis of the 1914 rupture exposes the parallels with COVID-19 and its potential severity for Latin America's internationally connected development.     

Rethinking the Politics of the Shift Left in Latin America: Towards a Relational Approach

The shift left in Latin American politics has revealed critical weaknesses within the dominant structural, state‐ and society‐based explanations concerning the politics of development in the region. This article argues that while elements of each remain relevant, there is a strong case for adopting a ‘relational’ frame of analysis that can capture the specific ways in which the Left came to power, and the unfolding implications for democracy and development. This relational approach focuses on how the new social and political economy basis of the new ruling coalitions and alternative geopolitical alliances shape politics and the prospects for development in the region.     

The Reelection Debate in Latin America

The debate over presidential reelection reappeared in Latin America in the last decade, and promises to continue in the years ahead. Arguments in favor contend that the possibility of immediate reelection increases politicians' responsiveness to citizen demands and allows voters the freedom to retain popular incumbents. Arguments against emphasize the danger of abuse of power by incumbents who seek to prolong their tenure. This article illustrates the parallels between these arguments and those made historically regarding the issue. It also suggests that the means by which provisions to allow reelection are adopted can provide valuable signals of their consequences.     

The European Union and Democracy in Latin America

The European Union has developed a significant range of democracy promotion initiatives in Latin America since the 1990s. The E.U.'s approach to democracy building has been seen to possess a number of strengths relative to U.S. policy, especially in connection with grassroots developmental imperatives. European policy itself, however, has a number of limitations. It has inadequately conceptualized the linkages between economic and political dimensions; it has insufficiently recognized the potential benefits of balancing bottom-up and top-down approaches. The E.U.'s influence over Latin American governments has remained more nebulous than that of the United States. European and U.S. policies in Latin America have both rivaled and complemented each other. Understanding this might inform both actors' democracy promotion efforts in the region.     

崛起的亚洲与世界——评《新亚洲半球:权力东移势不可挡》

21世纪是亚洲崛起的世纪,然而,西方人对亚洲的崛起持反感的态度,并感到恐慌,进而退化成保护主义.在<新亚洲半球:权力东移势不可挡>一书中,纪梭·马布巴尼以亚洲人的眼光,描述了亚洲的崛起及其对世界的影响,对世界权力重心的持续东移做出了深刻的分析.作者告诫西方,接受亚洲崛起的现实,并与之携手合作,才是明智之举.同时,他也告诉我们,当西方发生变化时,新亚洲应该如何响应.本文是对<新亚洲半球:权力东移势不可挡>的评论.     

Regionalism and Domestic Politics: U.S.-Latin American Trade Policy in the Bush Era

With remarkable success, Latin Americans have sought to impose their free trade policy agenda on a very reluctant and internally fractious United States. They have an ally in President George W. Bush, whose senior appointments notably support hemispheric trade integration even as political pressures sometimes have yielded protectionist outcomes. Bush's trade negotiator, Robert Zoellick, pursues a doctrine of competitive liberalization while accepting some linkage between trade and social and political goals. In negotiating the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the administration will have to balance many domestic pressures without alienating Latin America. Ultimately, FTAA ratification will signal a new Western Hemisphere economic-security alliance for the twenty-first century.     

九一一事件后美国对拉丁美洲的政策与拉美的反美主义

本文对九一一以来美国对拉丁美洲的政策及拉美地区出现的反美主义情绪进行了探讨。文章认为,单边主义是美国长期以来对拉美政策的突出特点。九一一后,由于反恐而进行政策调整的需要,布什政府对拉美的单边主义倾向更加明显,不仅表现在国际事务上以美国的意愿行事,而且在外交上有意忽视拉美国家。这种单边政策是激起拉美国家和人民反美主义的最重要根源之一。拉美国家的公众反美情绪不仅表明了其对美国的态度,而且激励了本地区的领导人挑战美国,甚至导致一些国家发生了政治转向。文章还以古巴为特例,分析了美国对西半球这个唯一的社会主义国家的政策,认为布什政府在很大程度上保持了美国对古巴政策的连续性,其主调仍然是强硬的,但另一方面,由于反恐的需要和国内利益集团的促动,美古关系也出现了松动的迹象。     

Globalization and Migration: The Impact of Family Remittances in Latin America

Taking as its point of departure the relationship between migration and globalization, this article highlights the salience of remittances in the national economies of Latin America, especially Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. It looks at the various actors that participate in the transfer of remittances and suggests that incorporating migrant labor dynamics as a category of economic integration will reveal a distinct landscape in the economies of Latin America.