Democracies in Development: Politics and Reform in Latin America, Revised Edition (Economic and Social Progress in Latin America, Annual Report)

Annotation The advance of democracy in Latin America over the past quarter century has contributed significantly to ensuring respect for fundamental political freedoms, civil liberties, and human rights. Democracies in Development highlights how an effective democracy is also essential for sustainable economic and social development. The book analyzes the effects of institutions on the functioning of democratic systems, identifies regional trends in political reform, assesses the value of reforms in contributing to enhanced democratic governance, and offers conclusions about the types of reforms that may hold promise for strengthening democracy. Appendices in the book's accompanying CD-ROM outline the institutional makeup of the region's democratic systems, examine voter turnout in presidential and legislative elections from 1978 to 2004, and present election results over the same period "The advance of democracy in Latin America over the past quarter century has contributed contributed significantly to ensuring respect for fundamental political freedom, civil liberties and human rights. This updated and expanded edition of Democracies in Development highlights how a legitmate and effective democracy is also essential for sustainable economic and social development. The book analyzes the effects of institutions on democratic systems, identifies regional trends in democratic reform, and assesses efforts to enhance governance. Chapters focus on the quality of democratic politics; citizen support for democracy and electoral participation; presidential democracy; political party systems; the balance of power between the executive and legislature; the authority of accountability agencies; and mechanisms to facilitate more direct citizen participation. Appendices outline the institutional structures of the region's democracies and examine voter turnout from 1978 to 2006. The accompanying CD-ROM features country-by-country election results for presidential and legislative elections."--Jacket Accompanying CD-ROM contains ... "appendices [which] ... outline the institutional makeup of the region's democratic systems, examine voter turnout in presidential and legislative elections in each Latin American country from 1978 to 2006, and present country-by-country election results for presidential and legislative elections over the same period."--Page 4 of cover J. Mark Payne ... [et Al.]. Includes Index And Bibliographical References. System Requirements For Accompanying Cd-rom: Adobe Acrobate Reader ; Microsoft Excel ; Cd-rom Drive.