Latin America In Comparative Perspective: New Approaches To Methods And Analysis (Latin America in Global Perspective)

This book highlights the necessity of analyzing Latin American society and politics within broad comparative frameworks. It explores methodological strategies for regional comparison and offers new approaches to the study of women, state power, corporatism, and political culture. This book, the inaugural publication in a multivolume series entitled Latin America in Global Perspective, highlights the necessity and feasibility of analyzing Latin American society and politics within broad comparative frameworks. The rapidly changing agenda for social science research on the region calls for the rigorous application of new concepts and methodologies, especially in light of the apparent exhaustion of the "dependency" paradigm. The examination of broad themes, such as development strategies and processes of democratization, can be facilitated through systematic comparisons with other world regions, and the study of specific issues--such as electoral behavior or social inequality--requires the judicious use of quantitative measurement. The question, therefore, is not only what to investigate but also how. This volume brings together original research by distinguished scholars from a variety of countries. Analytical chapters explore methodological strategies for cross-regional comparison, intraregional comparison, and the application of rational choice; topical chapters offer new approaches to the study of women, state power, corporatism, and political culture. A concluding section examines the political significance of public opinion research in Mexico, Peru, and the former Soviet Union.--Publisher description This book, the inaugural publication in a multivolume series entitled Latin America in Global Perspective, highlights the necessity and feasibility of analyzing Latin American society and politics within broad comparative frameworks.The rapidly changing agenda for social science research on the region calls for the rigorous application of new concepts and methodologies, especially in light of the apparent exhaustion of the “dependency” paradigm. The examination of broad themes, such as development strategies and processes of democratization, can be facilitated through systematic comparisons with other world regions, and the study of specific issues—such as electoral behavior or social inequality—requires the judicious use of quantitative measurement. The question, therefore, is not only what to investigate but also how.This volume brings together original research by distinguished scholars from a variety of countries. Analytical chapters explore methodological strategies for cross-regional comparison, intraregional comparison, and the application of rational choice; topical chapters offer new approaches to the study of women, state power, corporatism, and political culture. A concluding section examines the political significance of public opinion research in Mexico, Peru, and the former Soviet Union. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of Tables and Figures Preface List of Acronyms CHAPTER ONE: The Changing Agenda for Social Science Research on Latin America PART ONE: ANALYTICAL STRATEGIES CHAPTER TWO: Contending Paradigms for Cross-Regional Comparison: Development Strategies and Commodity Chains in East Asia and Latin America CHAPTER THREE: Purposes and Methods of lntraregional Comparison CHAPTER FOUR: Uses and Limitations of Rational Choice PART TWO: CONCEPTUAL ISSUES CHAPTER FIVE: Rewriting the Scripts: Gender in the Comparative Study of Latin American Politics CHAPTER SIX: Trajectory of a Concept: "Corporatism" in the Study of Latin American Politics CHAPTER SEVEN: Assessments of State Strength CHAPTER EIGHT: Reassessing Political Culture PART THREE: POLITICAL ROLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE CHAPTER NINE: Polls, Political Discourse, and the Public Sphere: The Spin on Peru's Fuji-golpe CHAPTER TEN: Public Opinion Research in Mexico CHAPTER ELEVEN: Public Opinion Research in Russia and Eastern Europe About the Book About the Editor and Contributors Index