The success and survival of American democracy have never been guaranteed. Arguing that we must take an unflinching look at the nature of democracy-and therefore, ourselves-historian Robert Tracy McKenzie explores the ideas of human nature in the history of American democratic thought, from the nation's Founders through the Jacksonian Era and Alexis de Tocqueville.
Most non-Central Americans think of the narrow neck between Mexico and Colombia in terms of dramatic past revolutions and lauded peace agreements, or, sensational problems of gang violence and natural disasters. In this volume, the contributors examine regional circumstances within frames of democratization and neoliberalism...
Addresses the question of why institutions meant to attract citizen participation succeed in strengthening civil society and improving state responsiveness and transparency in some places, but fail in others. Focuses on urban politics in Porto Alegre (Brazil), Montevideo (Uruguay), and Caracas (Venezuela).
