Public Opinion Surveys and USA Foreign Policy Towards Latin America in the Second World War

In this paper, the roles of public opinion polls and agency in foreign policymaking are examined. Based on documents uncovered from the National Archives and Rockefeller Archive Center, this paper presents a more comprehensive picture of the history of public opinion surveys and the shaping of US bureaucracy in their relation to foreign affairs. Further, the paper contends that policymakers are interested in public views pertaining to foreign policy issues, but that private interests (serving their own interpretations of national interest) shape public views, using new techniques as guiding tools.     

COVID-19 and the Limitations of Official Responses to Gender-Based Violence in Latin America: Evidence from Ecuador

As the COVID-19 lockdowns were implemented, Latin American countries raced to announce plans to address gender-based violence in response to the increase in reports of intrafamily abuse. However, states' interventions had limited results. This article explores the Ecuadorian case. The Andean country's emergency strategy was based on reporting violence via the 911 emergency number, a plan that failed to consider that women quarantined with their aggressors would not have the opportunity to make the call. This article lays bare the extent of the gap between policy and practice in gender mainstreaming and the acute consequences of this during the pandemic.     

Municipal Democratisation in Rural Latin America: Methodological Insights from Ecuador

As municipal governments in Latin America acquire greater responsibility for public goods and services and the promotion of economic and social development, and play a greater role in local citizenship, questions about the quality of municipal democracy also need to be taken much more seriously. This article proposes a 'relative power approach' that examines the distribution of social power at the microregional level and its impact on municipal governance as the starting point for the analysis of municipal democratisation in Latin America. The approach lays particular emphasis on historical changes in the distribution of local productive assets, the political organisation of local social actors, coalitions between and divisions within local social sectors and the ways in which local power relations are shaped by global and national forces. The article then explores the practical application of the relative power approach to three municipalities in rural Ecuador.     

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.     

Security Challenges in Latin America

This article challenges established security ideas on Latin America, beginning with the assumption that militarised states and military coups d'état now belong to a bygone era. The attempt is to demonstrate that, despite a regional framework for cooperation, democratic governments here have not established a democratic process of decision-making, particularly where security issues are concerned. This absence of democratic civil control over the military could challenge, and even potentially undermine, the consolidation of democracy in Latin America.     

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.     

Fear of Crime or Fear of Life? Public Insecurities in Chile

Chile is regarded as one of the safest countries in Latin America. Crime rates are extremely low when compared to the rest of the region, and the police are widely considered to be efficient and trustworthy. Despite these objective trends, fear of crime is widespread throughout Chile. Why are Chileans so fearful when their country is so safe? We argue that fear of crime in Chile does not reflect fear of criminal acts per se, but is rather a manifestation of a wide range of daily insecurities. That is, fear of crime is rooted in other economic, social, and political insecurities featuring prominently in Chilean life today. To substantiate this argument, we test the ability of these “other” insecurities to predict fear of crime using a recent survey conducted by the International Labor Organization in 2001. We test our hypothesis alongside counterhypotheses prominent in the literature: social identity characteristics, victimization, trust in the media, urbanization, and community participation. We find that political, social, and economic insecurities best predict fear of crime; however, victimization, urbanization, and trust in the media are also significant. Our results suggest that scholars should study fear of crime not only as it relates to victimization and criminalization, but also in a context of insecurities generated by increasing rates of unemployment and poverty.     

The Neoliberal Inheritance: Agrarian Policy and Rural Differentiation in Democratic Chile

This paper critically appraises the core philosophies of the three Concertación governments with respect to agrarian change and rural restructuring in Chile since 1990. It identifies common ideological ground in the successive administrations' perspectives on the nature and role of agriculture in the wider economy, arguing that a 'neoliberal inheritance>> has pervaded each. In drawing on primary and secondary data from the non-traditional fruit export sector the paper challenges the concept of reconversión as a panacea for rural under-development and grower failure. Given the simultaneously regionalising and globalising context which frames the Chilean transition, the paper highlights the tough choices that face policy makers at the current time. Developmental dilemmas are increasing in the sector, given the stated desire of the Concertación governments to move beyond pure, efficiency-driven, neoliberalism towards the incorporation of equity and sustainability goals. After ten years of democratic transition it is timely to ask if policy shows any signs of moving beyond reconversión .     

Covid-19 Pandemic,Social Mitigation and Taxation: The Open Veins of Inequality in Latin America

The pandemic of Covid-19 has exposed the veins of inequality in Latin America. With a socioeconomic disaster looming, social emergency policies seemed inevitable. Yet while governments argue over the continuity of such policies and whether the fiscal rules in place should be respected, no sustainable response has come out. This essay problematises whether the pandemic could represent a critical juncture to forge ahead with political narratives that highlight tax exemptions and privileges enjoyed by the rich. We analyse the mitigation measures adopted by Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay and their repercussions on the debate surrounding progressive tax reforms to fund social schemes.     

Low Intensity Democracies: Latin America in the Post-dictatorial Era

In the context of the Cold War and accompanied by the doctrines of National Security, authoritarian and often repressive military or civil-military regimes emerged in a number of Latin American countries. However, military regimes were not the only ones contributing to the formation of societies mutilated by fear and terror. During the last four decades, the continent became affected by a cycle of violence that involved various armed actors, from the armed forces to the guerrilla, from the paramilitaries to the narcotics-trafficking Mafia, or from the committees of self-defence to the 'common' criminals. This article focuses on the persistence of military influence and organised political violence more general in post-authoritarian and indeed post-Cold War Latin America. After briefly reviewing the historical legacy of so-called 'political armies' in the region as a whole, I offer an assessment of the consequences of this legacy for the current agenda of democratic consolidation in Latin America. Two possible scenarios are examined: that of fairly progressive democratisation and civilianisation of politics, and that of the re-emergence of violence despite the formal rule of democracy. In the latter scenario, de facto harsh and violent regimes collide with a growing array of rival perpetrators of political and other forms of organised violence.     

Society for Latin American Studies 2004 Plenary Lecture The Return of Cuba to Latin America: The End of Cuban Exceptionalism?

Comparing Cuban history and contemporary circumstances to those in the rest of the region, this article challenges the idea of Cuban exceptionalism. The last four decades have seen Cuba move away from typical Latin American patterns such as economic and geographical inequalities. The Revolution has not been able, however, to reverse a historical dependence on external financing nor has it resolved racial inequities. While the Revolution did establish an unusually effective political apparatus, it did not use this opportunity to nurture democracy. As the social welfare advances of the revolution erode, Cuba resembles the rest of the continent ever more and reflects the central problems facing the region.     

Civil Service Reform in Latin America: External Referents Versus Own Capacities

In the context of state reform and democratisation in Latin America, reinforcing public institutions becomes critical to sustaining and consolidating realised gains. In this area, civil service reforms are critical. But civil service reform initiatives in Latin American countries were designed with different degrees of compatibility with countries’ administrative traditions and with the role played by the civil service within the political system. The results of different initiatives are described in a brief review of six key features of nine Latin American civil services. Discussion of these results allows us to draw conclusions about the capacity to generate learning dynamics. A new conception of the civil service and its role in the political system appears more evident, unless the required political consensus for implementing and consolidating the new reform strategy for most Latin American public administrations is not confirmed.     

The Bottom Line: The Fundamental Weaknesses of Latin American Finance

Throughout the 1980s, Latin America experimented with financial liberalisation, which was supposed to solve the perpetual weaknesses of low savings, lack of access to capital, and the resulting stultifying effects on growth. We find that fundamental weaknesses in regional financial systems continue. We suggest that there are three basic policy reactions: a deepening of neoliberal policies; a neo‐structural reform of them; and a Bolivarian social reform‐oriented approach. While the neo‐structural approach has yielded the most promising performance, it is still limited. We conclude that the success of reforms lies in understanding and changing the calculations of the political beneficiaries of the status quo.     

From ‘Green Laggard’ to Regional Leader: Explaining the Recent Development of Environmental Policy in Chile

Environmental policy in Chile has developed rapidly in recent years, and the country has become a regional leader in renewable energy, climate change policy, recycling, and nature conservation. This contrasts with the previous neglect of environmental issues in the country and its depiction as a ‘green laggard’ (Orihuela, 2014: 251) within Latin America. In this article the recent development of environmental policy in Chile is reviewed and five factors affecting this development are analysed: international influences, institutional legacies, a window of opportunity opened by environmental movements, policy entrepreneurship, and business power.     

试论外国院外集团活动及其对美国对外政策的影响

美国作为全球唯一的超级大国 ,其对外政策关系到世界各国和国外利益集团的切身利益。各种代表国家和集团利益的外国院外集团为维护各自国家、民族和集团的利益 ,通过委托美国游说公司和具有特殊背景的人作为代理 ,在美国设立官方、民间机构 ,争取美国内具有共同利益的特殊集团的支持等方式进行院外活动 ,影响美国对外政策。因此 ,外国院外集团成为影响美国对外政策的重要因素 ,对美国对外政策的调整变化起着至关重要的作用     

泰国他信政府"进取性"外交政策透视

他信政府上台执政三年多来,围绕恢复和发展经济这个中心任务,推行"进取性"外交政策.泰国外交关系全面发展,为国内经济恢复与发展创造了和平稳定的国际环境,开拓了国际市场,同时也使泰国的国际地位和影响得以全面提高,引起东南亚各国以及世界主要大国的关注.     

Health Policy in Chile: The Return of the Public Sector?

Health policy in Chile has mirrored the main changes in economic policy in recent times. The 1950s and 1960s witnessed centralisation of public health care into a National Health Service. Neoliberal policies in the 1970s and 1980s refocused health policy onto extending the scope for private insurance and provision in health care. The return to democracy in 1990 has produced a reappraisal of health policy, with the emphasis on strengthening and improving public health insurance and care. This paper examines the extent to which recent changes in health policy signal a reappraisal of the private-public mix in the provision of basic services, and argues that a model for health care and financing built around a strong, modern, and efficient, public health care sector is more likely to succeed in addressing the health needs of the population in Chile and Latin America.     

Electoral Gender Quotas: Lessons from Argentina and Chile

This comparative case study examines the role of electoral quotas for increasing women's representation in Argentina and Chile. The Central hypothesis is that gender quotas in favourable electoral systems increase women's representation, and a corollary hypothesis is that more women in politics should also promote gender issues in public policy. Since the transitions to democratic regimes, many Argentine and Chilean women still promote gender issues, such as gender quotas, but the different transitions shaped the opportunity space for gender issues in politics. Thus, gender quotas can be effective, but the types of electoral and quota systems are important defining conditions and improvements in gender issues are not guaranteed.     

Domestic Contestation and Presidential Prerogative in Colombian Foreign Policy

The study of Colombian foreign policy emphasises external constraints and presidential prerogative in foreign policymaking. Drawing on insights from recent foreign policy analysis literature and evidence from several cases (Plan Colombia, US military bases, free trade talks with China, and ICJ arbitration of a maritime border with Nicaragua), this article challenges commonplace presidentialist assumptions. A novel model of ‘contested presidentialism’ better captures how Colombian domestic actors mobilise to raise political costs to block or modify presidential preferences. When the opposition fails to raise costs, presidentialist assumptions apply. Otherwise, presidents respond strategically by abandoning policies or substituting second-best alternatives.