Between Tyranny and Anarchy: A History of Democracy in Latin America, 1800-2006 (Social Science History)

Between Tyranny and Anarchy provides a unique comprehensive history and interpretation of efforts to establish democracies over two centuries in the major Latin American countries. Drake takes an unusual interdisciplinary approach, combining history and political science with an emphasis on political institutions. He argues that, without a thorough examination of the historical roots and causes of Latin American democracy, most general theories can not adequately explain its failures, successes, and forms. Latin America offers an extraordinary laboratory for the study of democratic experiments. Alongside a well-deserved reputation for authoritarianism, it boasts one of the world's deepest, richest histories of democratic movements, ideas, and institutions. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the region's leading democracies did not lag very far behind the United States and Western Europe in making numerous advances. In comparison with those countries, though, Latin America's democratic history has been distinctive because of its fundamental dilemma: how to reconcile political systems theoretically committed to legal equality with societies divided by extreme socio-economic inequalities. Beyond the barricades surrounding recent economic meetings, a constructive agenda is being developed on trade and sustainability issues in the Americas. This book brings together a diversity of perspectives and expertise on environment and development issues from governments, civil society and businesses in the Western Hemisphere. The book reviews specific areas where trade, environment and social policies intersect in the Americas, proposing that more integrated laws and policies could strengthen hemispheric progress toward sustainable development. It identifies new means of implementing this agenda, including changes to proposed trade agreements such as the FTAA, and ways to strengthen environmental and social cooperation mechanisms in the region, laying out future directions for law and policy in the region. The volume incorporates a variety of perspectives with policy options and research results from across the Americas. Critical yet constructive, it will appeal to students and scholars interested in the Americas integration process, as well as to development professionals and NGOs on the ground. The theory and history of Latin American democracy, 1800-2006 The historical evolution of Latin American democratic institutions, 1800-2006 The Bolívarian legacy : struggles toward democracy during the wars for independence, 1800s-1820s The archaeology of democracy after independence, 1820s-1870s Oligarchic republicanism, 1880s-1920s Populist democracy, 1930s-1970s The tsunami of neoliberal democracies, 1970s-2000s Two centuries of building democracy in Latin America, 1800-2006. Between Tyranny and Anarchy provides a comprehensive history and unique interpretation of efforts to establish democracies in the major Latin American countries. Drake takes an unusual interdisciplinary approach, combining history and political science with an emphasis on political institutions. He argues that, without a thorough examination of its historical roots and causes, Latin American theories of democracy cannot explain its failures, successes, and forms