Autocracy Rising: How Venezuela Transitioned to Authoritarianism

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A book titled Autocracy Rising: How Venezuela Transitioned to Authoritarianism
Venezuela, which once enjoyed periods of democratically elected governments in the latter half of the twentieth century, has descended into autocratic rule, coupled with economic collapse. In his new book, Autocracy Rising, veteran scholar of Latin American politics Javier Corrales explores how and why this happened.

Book Details

256 Pages
Brookings Institution Press
Published: February 15, 2023

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Charlemos: Autocracy Rising: Reflections on 10 Years of Madurismo

February 10, 2023

Javier Corrales (Amherst College) and Raul Sanchez-Urribarri (La Trobe University) discuss their recent publications with the University of Pittsburgh’s Center of Latin American Studies.

The Politics of LGBTQ Rights Expansion in Latin America

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A book titled The Politics of LGBTQ Rights Expansion in Latin America
In this book, Javier Corrales sets out the ambitious task of summarizing the scholarly literature on political challenges and achievements in LGBTQ rights in Latin America and the Caribbean since the 1960s. The first three chapters review the regional history of LGBTQ rights in the last 60 years, with a focus on three major themes: cultural attitudes, political institutions and the internal characteristics of the LGBTQ movements across time.

Book Details

Cambridge University Press
Published Online: December 22, 2021
Print Publication: April 7, 2022

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Fixing Democracy: Why Constitutional Change Often Fails to Enhance Democracy in Latin America

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A book titled Fixing Democracy: Why Constitutional Change Often Fails to Enhance Democracy in Latin America
In Fixing Democracy, Javier Corrales develops a theory of institutional origins that concentrates on constitutions and levels of power within them. He reviews numerous Latin American constituent assemblies and constitutional amendments to explore why some democracies expand rather than restrict presidential powers and why this heightened presidentialism discourages democracy.

Book Details

288 Pages
Oxford University Press
Published: June 26, 2018

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Dragon in the Tropics, Second Edition

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A book titled Dragon in the Tropics, Second Edition
This new and expanded edition of Dragon in the Tropics—the widely acclaimed account of how president Hugo Chávez (1999–2013) revamped Venezuela’s political economy—examines the electoral decline of Chavismo after Chavez’s death and the policies adopted by his successor, Nicolás Maduro, to cope with the economic chaos inherited from previous radical populist policies.

Book Details

224 Pages
Brookings Institution Press
Published: April 2, 2015

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The Promise of Participation: Experiments in Participatory Governance in Honduras and Guatemala

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A book titled The Promise of Participation: Experiments in Participatory Governance in Honduras and Guatemala
To what extent does participation in one particular domain of public life lead to wider participation in other areas? Through the use of an unprecedented survey supported by case studies this book explores how participatory governance in community-managed schools can alter the civic and political behavior of participants.

Book Details

261 Pages
Palgrave Macmillan (St. Anthony’s Series)
Published: November 27, 2013

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U.S.-Venezuela Relations since the 1990s: Coping with Midlevel Security Threats

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A book titled U.S.-Venezuela Relations since the 1990s: Coping with Midlevel Security Threats
U.S.-Venezuela Relations since the 1990s explores relations between these two countries since 1999. The authors analyze the reasons for rising bilateral conflict, the decision-making process in Venezuela, the role played by public and private actors in shaping foreign policy, the role of other powers such as China, Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia in shaping U.S.-Venezuelan relations, the role of Venezuela in Cuba and Colombia, and the impact of broader international dynamics in the bi-lateral relations.

Book Details

240 Pages
Routledge
Published: October 5, 2012

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Dragon in the Tropics: Hugo Chavez and the Political Economy of Revolution in Venezuela

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A book titled Dragon in the Tropics: Hugo Chavez and the Political Economy of Revolution in Venezuela
Since he was first elected in 1999, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez Frias has reshaped a frail but nonetheless pluralistic democracy into a semi-authoritarian regime—an outcome achieved with spectacularly high oil income and widespread electoral support. This eye-opening book illuminates one of the most sweeping and unexpected political transformations in contemporary Latin America.

Book Details

195 pages
Brookings Institution Press
Brookings Latin America Initiative
Published January 7, 2011

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The Politics of Sexuality in Latin America: A Reader on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights

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A book titled The Politics of Sexuality in Latin America: A Reader on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights
The Politics of Sexuality in Latin America presents the first English-language reader on LGBT politics in Latin America. Representing a range of contemporary works by scholars, activists, analysts, and politicians, the chapters address LGBT issues in nations from Cuba to Argentina. In their many findings, two main themes emerge: the struggle for LGBT rights has made significant inroads in the first decade of the twenty-first century (though not in every domain or every region); and the advances made were slow in coming compared to other social movements.

Book Details

480 Pages
University of Pittsburgh Press
Published: May 24, 2010

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Presidents Without Parties: The Politics of Economic Reform in Argentina and Venezuela in the 1990s

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A book titled Presidents Without Parties
Presidents Without Parties resuscitates and refines the ancient but often forgotten argument that political parties are indispensable for governability. In an era in which it is trendy to discount the usefulness of parties and to celebrate extra-partisan institutions, Corrales offers a reconsideration of the costs of trying to govern in the absence of competitive parties.

Book Details

384 Pages
Penn State University Press
Published: September 15, 2003

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Democracy and the Internet: Allies or Adversaries?

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A book titled Democracy and the Internet: Allies or Adversaries?
In Democracy and the Internet: Allies or Adversaries? three essays draw evidence from starkly different regions of the world. Leslie David Simon turns to one of the world’s least democratic regions, the Muslim nations of the Middle East; Javier Corrales reviews the weak democracies of Latin America, and Donald R. Wolfensberger studies the world’s most visible representative institution, the U.S. Congress.

Book Details

Woodrow Wilson Center Press
Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: 2002

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