Political Culture and Institutional Development in Costa Rica and Nicaragua

Political Culture and Institutional Development in Costa Rica and Nicaragua

Author: Consuelo Cruz

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2005-08-22

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 1107320690

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Democracy's checkered past and uncertain future in the developing world still puzzles and fascinates. In Latin America, attempts to construct resilient democracies have been as pervasive as reversals have been cruel. This book is based on a wealth of original historical documents and contemporary interviews with prominent political actors and analyses five centuries of political history in these paradigmatic cases of outstanding democratic success and abysmal failure. It shows that while factors highlighted by standard explanations matter, it is political culture that configures economic development, institutional choices and political pacts in ways that directly affect both democracy's chances and its quality. But it also claims that political culture is a dynamic combination of rational and normative imperatives that define actors' views of the permissible, shape their sense of realism, structure political struggles and legitimate the resulting distribution of power.


The SAGE Handbook of Comparative Politics

The SAGE Handbook of Comparative Politics

Author: Todd Landman

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 2009-06-30

Total Pages: 585

ISBN-13: 1446206556

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′Editors Landman and Robinson have compiled an excellent tour d′horizon of comparative politics. Distinguished contributors explore theoretical and methodological issues as well as examine the critical substantive domains that animate today′s comparativists. Graduate students and academics will want to keep this volume on their book shelf′ - Professor Mark Irving Lichbach, University of Maryland ′The SAGE Handbook of Comparative Politics is a major new resource for scholars of comparative politics, and of political science more generally. The Handbook covers the field with admirable thoroughness, but does not sacrifice depth for breadth. The chapters are written by notable scholars who provide rich discussions of their topics, and help to move the sub-discipline forward′ - B. Guy Peters, Professor, University of Pittsburgh The SAGE Handbook of Comparative Politics presents; in one volume, an authoritative overview of the theoretical, methodological and substantive elements of comparative political science. The 28 specially commissioned chapters, written by renowned comparative scholars, guide the reader through the central issues and debates, presenting a state-of-the-art guide to the past, present and possible futures of the field. The Handbook is divided into three parts. The first considers comparative methodologies and reviews the interactions between various sub-fields of comparative politics: political economy; political sociology; area studies; international relations; and institutional analysis. The second section examines nine ′classic′ issues of concern to comparativists, including government formation, political behaviour and democratization. In the final section, nine new and emerging areas of comparative research are considered, such as terrorism, electoral corruption, human rights and regional integration. The SAGE Handbook of Comparative Politics is an essential resource for researchers in political science, political sociology, political economy, international relations, area studies and all other fields with a comparative political dimension.


Contesting Trade in Central America

Contesting Trade in Central America

Author: Rose J. Spalding

Publisher: University of Texas Press

Published: 2014-04-01

Total Pages: 351

ISBN-13: 0292754590

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In 2004, the United States, five Central American countries, and the Dominican Republic signed the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), signaling the region's commitment to a neoliberal economic model. For many, however, neoliberalism had lost its luster as the new century dawned, and resistance movements began to gather force. Contesting Trade in Central America is the first book-length study of the debate over CAFTA, tracing the agreement's drafting, its passage, and its aftermath across Central America. Rose J. Spalding draws on nearly two hundred interviews with representatives from government, business, civil society, and social movements to analyze the relationship between the advance of free market reform in Central America and the parallel rise of resistance movements. She views this dynamic through the lens of Karl Polanyi's "double movement" theory, which posits that significant shifts toward market economics will trigger oppositional, self-protective social countermovements. Examining the negotiations, political dynamics, and agents involved in the passage of CAFTA in Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, Spalding argues that CAFTA served as a high-profile symbol against which Central American oppositions could rally. Ultimately, she writes, post-neoliberal reform "involves not just the design of appropriate policy mixes and sequences, but also the hard work of building sustainable and inclusive political coalitions, ones that prioritize the quality of social bonds over raw economic freedom."


Youth and Political Participation

Youth and Political Participation

Author: Glenn H. Utter

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2011-09-12

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13:

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This comprehensive reference examines the history and importance of youth participation in politics, suggests reasons for their disengagement, and discusses efforts to increase the interest of young voters in the political process—a process in which they could be a controlling factor. Surveys indicate that those under the age of 30 consistently score the lowest on factual questions about politics, and young people are the least likely to engage in political activity online despite being the age group most likely to use the Internet. Many political researchers and activists are justifiably concerned, linking the low level of political participation among American youth to the overall health of our democratic system. Youth and Political Participation: A Reference Handbook sheds light on this important subject, identifying and discussing factors that have influenced youth political participation in the past and those that play a role today, including the mass media, political parties, interest groups, and individual attitudes toward political engagement. The book also provides historical perspective by addressing the early years of the Republic, the protest politics of the 1960s, the campaign for the 18-year-old vote, and the results of the 26th Amendment granting that right.


A Century of Crisis and Conflict in the International System

A Century of Crisis and Conflict in the International System

Author: Michael Brecher

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-07-25

Total Pages: 421

ISBN-13: 3319571567

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This book is designed to present a fully developed theory of international crisis and conflict, along with substantial evidence of these two closely related phenomena. The book begins with a discussion of these topics at a theoretical level, defining and elaborating on core concepts: international crisis, interstate conflict, severity, and impact. This is followed by a discussion of the international system, along with two significant illustrations, the Berlin Blockade crisis (1948) and the India-Pakistan crisis over Kashmir (1965-66). The book then presents a unified model of crisis, focusing on the four phases of an international crisis, which incorporate the four periods of foreign policy crises for individual states. Findings from thirteen conflicts representing six regional clusters are then analyzed, concluding with a set of hypotheses and evidence on conflict onset, persistence, and resolution.


The Statesman's Yearbook 2008

The Statesman's Yearbook 2008

Author: B. Turner

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-01-12

Total Pages: 1585

ISBN-13: 1349740241

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The 2008 edition of The Statesman's Yearbook contains information and analysis on every country in the world, including biographical profiles of current leaders, government histories, economic overviews and maps. Every copy comes with a single-user licence giving access to the full text online, updated regularly and fully searchable.


Explorer's Guide Granada, San Juan del Sur & Southwest Nicaragua: A Great Destination (Explorer's Great Destinations)

Explorer's Guide Granada, San Juan del Sur & Southwest Nicaragua: A Great Destination (Explorer's Great Destinations)

Author: Paige R. Penland

Publisher: The Countryman Press

Published: 2010-12-06

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 1581578512

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The definitive guide to these gorgeous and dramatic sites. Relax on broad Pacific beaches surrounding the surf town of San Juan del Sur. Dine amidst Spanish Colonial Granada’s elegant architecture. Explore dramatic Ometepe Island. This comprehensive guide covers it all, from nightlife in sultry Managua, Nicaragua’s underrated capital, to national parks protecting pristine crater lakes, fuming volcanoes, cool cloud forests, and sea turtle nesting grounds.