Popular Religions and the Building of Democracy in Latin America: Saving the Tocquevillian Parallel

1999 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 111-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rowan Ireland
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Latin American ◽  
North American ◽  
American Democracy ◽  
Religious Factor ◽  
Afro Brazilian

Do Latin America’s popular religions contribute to the formation of citizens and the development of civil society—the infrastructure of democracy—in ways that parallel the operation of the religious factor in the development of North American democracy as perceived by Tocqueville? Examining evidence prompting both negative and positive responses, this essay argues that Catholicism, Pentecostalism, and Afro-Brazilian Spiritism all contain tendencies that contribute to the development of pluralist democracy in the Latin American republics.

scholarly journals Populism Revived:Donald Trump and the Latin American Leftist Populists

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 733-753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos de la Torre
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political Community ◽  
First Century ◽  
European Politics ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
American Democracy ◽  
Right Wing Populism ◽  
Hugo Chavez ◽  
Juan Peron

The twenty-first century could well become known as the populist century. No longer confined to Latin America or to the margins of European politics, populism has spread to Africa, Asia, and, with Donald Trump's election, to the cradle of liberal democracy. Even though it is uncertain what impact Trump's populism will have on American democracy, it is worth learning from Latin America, where populists have been in power from the 1930s and 1940s to the present. Even as Latin American populists like Juan Perón and Hugo Chávez included the poor and the nonwhite in the political community, they moved toward authoritarianism by undermining democracy from within. Are the foundations of American democracy and the institutions of civil society strong enough to resist US president Donald Trump's right-wing populism?

Transnational Social Movements in Latin America

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisa von Bülow
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Transnational Social Movements ◽  
Collective Action Problems ◽  
Diffusion Paths

Latin American transnational social movements (TSMs) are key actors in debates about the future of global governance. Since the 1990s, they have played an important role in creating new organizational fora to bring together civil society actors from around the globe. In spite of this relevance, the literature on social movements from the region focuses primarily—and often exclusively—on the domestic arena. Nevertheless, there is an increasingly influential body of scholarship from the region, which has contributed to relevant theoretical debates on how actors overcome collective action problems in constructing transnational social movements and how they articulate mobilization efforts at the local, national and international scales. The use of new digital technologies has further blurred the distinction among scales of activism. It has become harder to tell where interpretative frames originate, to trace diffusion paths across national borders, and to determine the boundaries of movements. At the same time, there are important gaps in the literature, chief among them the study of right-wing transnational networks.

A Populist Precursor: Guillermo Billinghurst

1977 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Blanchard
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
North American ◽  
Specific Area ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Geographical Region ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
The North ◽  
Popular Movements ◽  
Universal Nature

The term ‘populism’ has been used to describe many of the popular movements that have appeared in Latin America in recent decades. It is an ‘imprecise term’, to use the words of Professor Skidmore, and the large number of definitions available, indicates how imprecise the term, in fact, has become. Definitions of a universal nature are of limited use, for populism seems to vary according to geographical region: the North American populist differs from the Russian populist, who differs from the African populist, who differs from the Latin American populist, and so on. Even when dealing with the specific area of Latin America there is no consistency. Writers disagree on whether Latin American populists are Left- or Right- Wing, anti- or pro-status quo, reformists or opportunists, rigid or flexible with regard to ideology.

Toward a New Agenda for the Study of Religion in the Americas

1999 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel A. Vásquez
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Religious Practice ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
Scholarly Work ◽  
Global Context ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Definition Of

Recent scholarly work on Latin American religion reflects the pluralism and fragmentation of both religion and civil society. What effect will religious practice at the local, “micro” level have on institutions and structures at the “macro” level-namely, the process of democratization? A deeper, simultaneously more foundational and more encompassing definition of democratic politics might be involved. In an increasingly global context, the study of religion and social change in Latin America and among U.S. Latinos needs to take a comparative, truly interamerican approach.

Indigenous Political Representation in Latin America

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Rice
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Indigenous Movements

Indigenous peoples have become important social and political actors in contemporary Latin America. The politicization of ethnic identities in the region has divided analysts into those who view it as a threat to democratic stability versus those who welcome it as an opportunity to improve the quality of democracy. Throughout much of Latin America’s history, Indigenous peoples’ demands have been oppressed, ignored, and silenced. Latin American states did not just exclude Indigenous peoples’ interests; they were built in opposition to or even against them. The shift to democracy in the 1980s presented Indigenous groups with a dilemma: to participate in elections and submit themselves to the rules of a largely alien political system that had long served as an instrument of their domination or seek a measure of representation through social movements while putting pressure on the political system from the outside. In a handful of countries, most notably Bolivia and Ecuador, Indigenous movements have successfully overcome this tension by forming their own political parties and contesting elections on their own terms. The emergence of Indigenous peoples’ movements and parties has opened up new spaces for collective action and transformed the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the state. Indigenous movements have reinvigorated Latin America’s democracies. The political exclusion of Indigenous peoples, especially in countries with substantial Indigenous populations, has undoubtedly contributed to the weakness of party systems and the lack of accountability, representation, and responsiveness of democracies in the region. In Bolivia, the election of the country’s first Indigenous president, Evo Morales (2006–present) of the Movement toward Socialism (MAS) party, has resulted in new forms of political participation that are, at least in part, inspired by Indigenous traditions. A principal consequence of the broadening of the democratic process is that Indigenous activists are no longer forced to choose between party politics and social movements. Instead, participatory mechanisms allow civil society actors and their organizations to increasingly become a part of the state. New forms of civil society participation such as Indigenous self-rule broaden and deepen democracy by making it more inclusive and government more responsive and representative. Indigenous political representation is democratizing democracy in the region by pushing the limits of representative democracy in some of the most challenging socio-economic and institutional environments.

Disappearances in the Post-Transition Era in Latin America

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Personal Story ◽  
Authoritarian State ◽  
Latin American Countries

The book identifies a new human rights phenomenon. While disappearances have tended to be associated with authoritarian state and armed conflict periods, the study looks at these acts carried out in procedural democracies where democratic institutions prevail. Specifically, the book manuscript analyses disappearances in four Latin American countries (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and El Salvador) which provide insights into the dimensions of this contemporary social problem. The theoretical framing for the volume links contemporary disappearances with certain logics that emerged in the authoritarian and armed conflict periods and continue today. It also covers the evolution of legal instruments addressing past disappearances and the current phenomenon. Each case study is introduced by a personal story of disappearance, followed by analyses. The following ‘Tools’ section sets out ‘best practices’ used by civil society groups and non-governmental organisations to address the rights of victims for truth, justice, reparations, and guarantees of non-repetition.

scholarly journals Democracia y autoritarismo en América Latina: en busca de la década pérdida (1995-2005)

2009 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Chinchón Álvarez
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
American Democracy ◽  
The Future ◽  
America Latina

RESUMEN: Los últimos datos ofrecidos por el «Latinobarómetro» permiten volver a reflexionar sobre un tema clave como es la compleja relación entre democracia y autoritarismo en América Latina. Con este trabajo se pretende realizar una lectura crítica de estos datos, presentando una línea de análisis que permita evaluar el desarrollo de la democracia en la región durante el último decenio (1995-2005), sin renunciar a aventurar algunas hipótesis sobre el devenir futuro de la democracia en el subcontinente americano.ABSTRACT: The last results gotten from «Latinobarómetro» allow as thinking again about a key issue like the complex link between democracy and authoritarism in Latin America. This paper will try to make a critical review about this data, presenting an analysis to evaluate the development of democracy in this region during the last ten years (1995-2005). Some hypothesis about the future in the Latin American democracy will be offered also.

José Ingenieros, Argentine Intellectual Historian: La Evolución de Las Ideas Argentinas

1964 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-35
Author(s):  
Paul S. Holbo
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
North American ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Latin Americans ◽  
Scientific Congress ◽  
Pan American ◽  
American Union

When Dr. José Ingenieros died in late October, 1925, the New York Times published a brief notice of his passing. The obituary mentioned that the “noted Argentine alienist [psychiatrist] and writer ”had attended the Pan-American Scientific Congress held at Washington, D. C. in 1915. But it stressed his recent advocacy of the slogan “Latin America for the Latin Americans ”and his suggestion that the Pan American Union be replaced by a Latin American Union, which would be free of the influence of “foreign imperialism ”and North American “money lenders.”

scholarly journals Armed forces as a factor in the political process in the Russian Federation and Latin America

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarita Anatolevna Dementeva
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Defense Spending ◽  
Officer Corps ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
The Russian Federation

The article deals with the complex of issues of civil society influence on the formation and activity of the Armed Forces of the state. Based on practical examples, the author considers the specifics of the professionalization of the army in Latin America, draws Parallels with the Russian Federation. An important common feature of Russia and Latin America, the author believes hypertrophied public attention to the Armed Forces. In the Latin American States, which no one is going to attack, the army is perceived as a symbol of statehood, the value of the guarantee of its sovereignty, it is exalted, the officer corps is respected. In the Russian Federation, civil society is critical of the growth of defense spending, advocates a complete transition to a professional army.

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