PS 134AA: Comparative Politics of Latin America

Study Guide

Winter 2010

FINAL EXAMINATION

7:00-10:00 p.m. Monday, March 15, Pepper Canyon 109

•Closed book exam

•No cell phones, I-pods, whatever

•Coverage: entire course, but with emphasis on second half

•Bring blue books and writing materials

FILMS AND VIDEOS:

1. “Missing”

2. “A Hazy Transparency”

3. “Garden of the Forking Paths”

4. “In Women’s Hands”

5. “The Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt”

BASIC TEXTS

• Smith, Democracy in Latin America: Political Change in Comparative Perspective (2005), entire

• Skidmore, Smith, and Green, Modern Latin America (2010), almost all

COURSE READER

• Magaloni, “Demise of Mexico’s One-Party System”

• Peeler, “Social Justice and the New Indigenous Politics”

• Htun, “Women and Democracy”

• Cleary, “Explaining the Left’s Resurgence”

• Smith, “Exploring Unexpected Opportunities”

STRUCTURE OF EXAM

PART I. DISCUSSION ITEMS

[approximately 10 out of 13]

PART II. SHORT ESSAYS

[some choice available]

PART III. LONG ESSAY

[one out of two or three]

SAMPLE IDENTIFICATION ITEMS

• Open list

• Concertación

• Bureaucratic-Authoritarian Regime

• Evo Morales

• EZLN

• “Aló, Presidente”

• Partido Justicialista/Justicialist Party

• Green Oxygen party

• Lula

• MRO

• Washington Consensus

SHORT ESSAY TOPICS

1. Has the political condition of Latin American women improved under electoral democracy? In what ways? To what degree?

2. What do public opinion surveys suggest about popular commitment todemocracy in Latin America?

3. What explains the durability of contemporary democracy in Argentina and Brazil?

4. What are the defining characteristics of the recent “pink wave” in Latin American politics? Do you think that it is likely to endure? Why or why not?

LONG ESSAY QUESTIONS

1. It has been said that dysfunctional (non-functioning) channels of popular representation represent the most serious challenges to democratic development in Latin America. Do you agree with this assessment? Why? Why not?

2. Is “illiberal democracy” the future of Latin American politics? Present arguments for and against this idea. Which side do you favor and why?

3. Describe and analyze processes of democratization in Latin America during the course of the twentieth century. How has democracy changed over time? What have become its defining characteristics?